“Tus pasos en la escalera”. Waiting, as Told by Antonio Munoz Molina

The latest book by the writer and academic tells the story of a man who waits for a woman. The reversal of roles, uncertainty and the question of subjective perception are the foundations of this gripping tale set in Lisbon.

Cover of the book Tus pasos en la escalera. Antonio Munoz Molina. At planetadelibros.com

“I have settled in this city to wait for the end of the world”. This phrase, as superb as it is concrete, is the starting point of Tus pasos en la escalera, the latest book written by Antonio Munoz Molina and published by Seix Barral. The story is set in Lisbon, the city where the author currently lives (and which he shares with Madrid). And not only in the same city, but even in the same neighborhood. A neighborhood that fascinates the writer every day and awakens his senses through its combination of “cosmopolitanism and small-town air”, in his own words. A neighborhood where the small grocery store coexists with the most cutting-edge modernity, and with the grass that grows between the cobblestones. It is the setting Munoz Molina chooses to place his story: the story of a man who waits for a woman. If Penelope waited for Ulysses, on this occasion the starting point is precisely the opposite.

Book trailer of Tus pasos en la escalera narrated by Antonio Munoz Molina

During the story, as the narrative envelops us with the memories, the perception of the world and of time and the protagonist’s expectations, the reader begins to realize that there is something that escapes us. In the author’s words, “the narrator is hiding something”. This unsettling feeling gives the plot a twist and opens new narrative paths, which are a real pleasure to travel. With subtlety as his banner, slowly but surely, Antonio Munoz Molina creates a plot of psychological suspense where there seemed to be a hopeful story of future love. The protagonist and his wife leave behind their years in New York, branded “with fire” by the experience of 9/11 and with the desire to open a new chapter in their lives. While he goes ahead to handle the move, she stays to manage the relocation of her scientific project. A project whose subject matter has much to do with the plot of the story… One more nuance for the reader to discover, someone whom this book transports in space and time. And who will live as their own the story of someone for whom waiting has become their reason for being.

Tus pasos en la escalera available on Amazon

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