LA PARTE DE LOS ANGELES

2011, Ateneo - Ciudad de Valladolid Prize

When Irene and Ricardo meet in Holland during an international violin competition, the two young musicians' attraction to one another is instantaneous. They embark on a passionate relationship, travelling the globe with their concert tours - settling in cities such as Rotterdam, Siena, New York - and filling their life with art, culture and brilliant friends. But two decades later Ricardo falls in love with a younger woman named Ana, and Irene tries tro settle into a new life without him, realizing the sacrifices she made to forward his career. But she also comes to realize and accept that love still remains between two people, even when their life together is over and thus she explains their separation to their daughter in the following words: "The time your father and I had to be together had run out. Every couple has a time to be happy and a time to be unhappy. We had exhausted both."

This is a beautiful novel about relationships, about what brings two people together and draws them apart and the importance of forgiveness.