Home Reading Service: A Novel

I was intrigued by this book’s premise going into it, but ultimately it let me down.

Here, Curtis Bauer translates Fabio Morábito’s Spanish-language novel Home Reading Service into English. Taking place in the crime-ridden City of Eternal Spring in México, the novel follows a man named Eduardo who is sentenced to community service after some supposedly accidental crime he committed. A Father at a local church helps Eduardo perform his community service in the form of reading aloud in the homes of the elderly and disabled.

Eduardo has a nice sounding voice. People like listening to him read aloud. He has a problem though. He can’t seem to pay attention to what he’s reading when he speaks it out loud. His eyes gloss over the words. His mouth makes the noises, but his brain doesn’t understand the meaning. He can’t seem to follow the story.

Unfortunately, I felt similar to poor Eduardo while I read this book. I didn’t read it aloud. I know the events that happened and to which characters. At the same time, though, I couldn’t find much meaning. I did follow the story, but I didn’t like where it went.