Viaje de Invierno

From the opening lines of Winter Journey, Amélie Nothomb’s singular microcosm pulls us in. The protagonist’s blunt declaration — «I’m going to blow up the 1:30 p. m. plane» — suggests terrorism, but his cause is neither political nor religious; it is love, total and unconditional, for Zoilo believes that simply experiencing love is already a triumph. His obsession is Astrolabio, a young woman devoted to safeguarding Aliénor, an eccentric novelist whose peculiar autism renders her a kind of gluttonous, helpless «alien» dictating her books to her loyal agent. The autobiographical echo is clear, recalling Nothomb’s own eccentricity and her…