Synopses & Reviews
It is Sylvia’s sixteenth birthday, and her life as an adult is about to begin—not with the party she had been planning, but with a car accident and a broken leg. Behind the wheel is a talented young soccer player, just arrived from Buenos Aires and set for stardom on and off the field. As their destinies collide and a young romance is set in motion, across town, Sylvia’s father and grandfather are finding their own lives suddenly derailed by a violent murder and a secret affair with a prostitute.
Set against the maze of Madrid’s congested and contested streets, Learning to Lose follows these four individuals as they swerve off course in unexpected directions. Each of them is dodging guilt and the fear of failure, but their shared search for happiness, love, purity, redemption, and, above all, a way to survive, forms a taut narrative web that binds the characters together.
From one of Spain’s most celebrated contemporary writers, Learning to Lose is a lucid and gripping view into the complexities of lives overturned and into the capriciousness of modern life, with its intoxicating highs and devastating lows.
Synopsis
Set against the maze of Madrid's congested and contested streets, "Learning to Lose" follows four individuals as they swerve off course in unexpected directions, searching for a way to avoid or accept their losses.
About the Author
David Trueba was born in Madrid in 1969 and has been successful both as a novelist and as a screenwriter.
La buena vida was his widely acclaimed debut as a film director and was followed by
Obra maestra,
Soldados de Salamina,
Bienvenido a casa, and
La silla de Fernando. He is the author of two previous novels,
Cuatro amigos and
Abierto toda la noche.
Learning to Lose won the Critics Award in 2009 and marks Trueba’s English-language debut.
Mara Faye Lethem is the translator of Spanish and Catalan authors such as
Albert Sánchez Piñol, Juan Marsé, Javier Calvo, Jorge Semprún, and Pablo DeSantis. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, she has lived in Barcelona since 2003.
Reading Group Guide
1. Which thread of the story captivated you most? Whom do you consider the main character of this novel? In a book with so many strong and complex personalities, why do you think the author chose to open and end the book with Sylvia?
2. What first draws Leandro to the chalet? What keeps him coming back? Discuss his fascination with Osembe, even after she assaults him.
3. Does trust exist between any of the novel's characters?
4. What is life like for Ariel as a celebrity in a foreign land? How does the constant media attention influence his life? How is he able to have such a close relationship with Husky, who is a reporter?
5. How commanding is sex in each of the lovers' relationships?
6. What kind of man and father is Lorenzo? What is his true motive for murdering Paco? What draws Lorenzo to repeatedly visit Don Jaime, the man whose apartment he cleaned out?
7. Do you think Lorenzo should have confessed his crime? Why or why not?
8. Discuss the various friendships in Learning to Lose (Sylvia/Mai, Leandro/Joaquin, Ariel/Husky, Lorenzo/Wilson). How is jealousy intertwined into them? Do any of the friends have ulterior motives?
9. Why does Aurora want to keep her illness a secret from her family? Discuss the bond between Aurora and her granddaughter.
10. Discuss the various ways that chance plays out in the novel.
11. Do you think any of the characters are capable of feeling at ease with their lives?
12. Trueba writes that soccer "is the only line of work where you can do everything wrong in a game and win, and you can do everything right and lose." Discuss the title Learning to Lose with this in mind. Does "learning to lose" apply to one character more than the others?
13. Learning to Lose is almost completely devoid of quotation marks. When they do occur, they never appear around dialogue. Why do you think the author chose this unconventional style choice? How did it affect your reading?