Suture

An intimate, dizzying journey in search of love—and meaning—within the wounds of the past.

The unnamed, migrant narrator of this novel embarks on a deep exploration of the secret life of her heart—both literally and metaphorically. Born with a heart murmur that required a series of complex surgeries, she is a survivor, marked by physical and emotional scars. She leaves Buenos Aires to study in Barcelona, a city where she slowly begins to put down roots. Friendships and love affairs flow with relative ease—until she becomes entangled with Alonso, a married man in an open relationship. What at first seemed like a cry for freedom soon reveals itself to be a trap—one that will be painful and difficult to escape.

With writing that is both sensual and contemplative, Sofía Balbuena delves into the light and shadows of intimate and sexual relationships. In a world where everything feels new and uncertain, the narrator’s condition as a foreigner opens a space of unexpected possibilities—far removed from any prescribed path—where pain and joy, sorrow and happiness, intertwine without pause.

“Halfway between a letter and a confession, a statement of principles and an interior monologue, Sofía Balbuena writes with the urgency of someone who knows that youth slips away—an illusion, not a promise.”
—Magalí Etchebarne