A New York Times Notable Book of the Year.
Shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize, Hot Milk moves gracefully
among pathos, danger, and humor" (The New York Times).
*
I have been sleuthing my mother's symptoms for as long as I can
remember. If I see myself as an unwilling detective with a desire for
justice, is her illness an unsolved crime? If so, who is the villain and
who is the victim?*
Sofia, a young anthropologist, has spent much of her life trying to
solve the mystery of her mother's unexplainable illness. She is
frustrated with Rose and her constant complaints, but utterly relieved
to be called to abandon her own disappointing fledgling adult life. She
and her mother travel to the searing, arid coast of southern Spain to
see a famous consultant--their very last chance--in the hope that he
might cure her unpredictable limb paralysis.
But Dr. Gomez has strange methods that seem to have little to do with
physical medicine, and as the treatment progresses, Sofia's mother's
illness becomes increasingly baffling. Sofia's role as
detective--tracking her mother's symptoms in an attempt to find the
secret motivation for her pain--deepens as she discovers her own desires
in this transient desert community.
Hot Milk is a profound exploration of the sting of sexuality, of
unspoken female rage, of myth and modernity, the lure of hypochondria
and big pharma, and, above all, the value of experimenting with life; of
being curious, bewildered, and vitally alive to the world.
