Y De Repente Un Angel

A really enjoyable and touching story about Julián, a writer from Peru who, pressured by his girlfriend, unwillingly hires a housemaid called Merce... (show more)

A really enjoyable and touching story about Julián, a writer from Peru who, pressured by his girlfriend, unwillingly hires a housemaid called Mercedes who has been working as a cleaner (or rather a virtual slave) all her life after being "sold" by her mother aged just 10 due to the extreme poverty they lived in. The two develop an awkward but increasingly warm friendship and Julián pushes Mercedes to go in search of her roots. Mercedes' openness and willingness to never let the past embitter her in any way, despite her terrible life make her a great character who serves as an example to Julián, forcing him to revisit his own past and reexamine his broken relationship with his own parents. The book is very comical at times and despite having a strong current of sadness throughout, it is overwhelmingly a very positive story with characters that are fun to conjure-up in your mind's eye. It's very well written and interesting from the first page to the last, teaching about morality and forgiveness in a way that is not at all preachy. Highly recommended. (show less)