Translated from Spanish by Robin Myers
2024, 202 pages. Original version published by Grupo Editorial Círculo Rojo SL, 2021, 218 pages.
Natalia Missidenti is on the train back to Geneva. Reaching for her umbrella, which has slipped to the back of the luggage rack, she finds a box. She looks around: it does not seem to belong to any of the other passengers. A piece of paper is taped to it: “I entrusted these letters to the universe and the universe delivered them to you. They are yours.”
The letters, written in Spanish, are at the centre of this book. Spanish is the one language that Natalia does not speak. So she turns to her colleague Miguel Mancera, whom she secretly fancies, to help her read them.
The box contains love letters written by a woman called Valentina to someone whom she addresses as “Dear Wednesday”, letters that were never sent. Their romance is reflected in the story of Natalia and Miguel, as the letters bring them closer together. Miguel is a widower with a daughter and has been reluctant to get into another relationship. Natalia has been through an unhappy marriage and her subsequent relationships have not worked out well. But they both find the courage to fall in love again.
Valentina writes about a requinto[1] that she had especially made for Wednesday, a requinto with a hummingbird painted on its side. Wednesday turned down the gift, and Valentina eventually sold it. Miguel stumbles across it by chance, recognizing it by the image of the hummingbird. This discovery leads to more surprising revelations.
The book moves between Valentina’s letters to Wednesday and the story of Natalia and Miguel.
Before I go any further, full disclosure: Kat De Moor is a friend of mine. She wrote her first two novels in quick succession. Dear Wednesday is her second book, a sequel to Chronicle of a Longing,[2] which tells Valentina’s story before she wrote the letters. You can read them both as stand-alone novels.
There is a wonderful description of the luthier, Sergio, who makes the requinto for Valentina. Sergio—based on someone who actually exists and who made two instruments for De Moor—is blind, able to operate complex and dangerous machinery simply by using his other senses. “He builds his instruments by touch, scent, and sound. He feels the wood, he smells it…and this gives him information about the instrument’s sound, its nature, its personality, as if it were a character.”
My gripe with the book is that Valentina obviously travels a lot, and the trips described in her letters can be a bit long and take the reader away from the plot. But having read both books, I can see De Moor developing as a writer. Dear Wednesday feels more assured than Chronicle of a Longing, and the plot is better woven.
This book is beautifully illustrated. De Moor’s sister, Annemie De Moor, painted the cover illustrations for both the novels. I loved the way elements from the cover of Dear Wednesday appear at the start of each chapter.
I enjoyed Dear Wednesday, especially the story of Natalia and Miguel. I look forward to seeing De Moor’s next book!
[1] A requinto is a smaller version of a classical guitar, tuned a fourth higher.
[2] Translated from Spanish by Robin Myers, published by Grupo Editorial Círculo Rojo SL, 2021, 160 pages. Original version published in 2020.
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