The Birthday Buyer

Hurbinek was born and died in Auschwitz. “Nothing remains of him; he bears witness through these words of mine,” wrote Primo Levi in The Truce. Deeply moved by the unknown story of that three-year-old boy, Adolfo García Ortega rescues his memory from oblivion by inventing his life—the possible lives he might have lived had he not perished, a victim to mankind’s most ignominious hour. Thus, by creating for him a “life after death,” the author not only pays homage to the dead but strives to redeem man’s noblest side through the power of love and compassion, which no amount of torment or suffering can ever extinguish. “An extraordinary novel. Take my word for it, start reading it right away.” Hugo García Saritzu, La Vanguardia “An essential, harrowing book.” J. Ernesto Ayala-Dip, El País “Now and then, once every few years, one happens upon a book—generally a novel—that makes it possible to reconcile oneself with the whole of literature.” Mario Wainstein, Aurora “This book, on its own, would be worthy of the Nobel Prize.” Diego Medrano, Diario de Gijón “How moving this novel is. . . . How well written.” Alfonso López Alfonso, Clarín