gifted by the publisher

Set in an increasingly destabilizing Venezuela, SIMPATÍA follows Ulises Kan, a man going through a divorce while trying to complete his father-in-law's will to establish a dog sanctuary. With suspenseful writing, Calderón examines the fascinating relationships of those left behind—the shunted FIL, the orphan Ulises, and the abandoned dogs. While I didn't always get how the various cultural references relate to the themes of the story, I was mesmerized by Ulises' journey to building a home for himself. SIMPATÍA asks a difficult question: who is worth our sympathy, and who deserves saving?