Discontent

An acerbic, off-the-wall Madrid-set story of modern angst and trying to be a whole person in a world defined by work

Marisa is in her 30s and a creative strategist at an advertising agency in Madrid. Her job is about selling things people don't need to people who don't want them, and she can see right through it to the late-capitalist mess we're in.

But what to do with this knowledge, other than hide in the basement of the Prado, arm herself with tranquilisers and irony, name her spiralling anxiety 'Berto' after a failed lover, and wonder whether everyone else cries when their alarm wakes them in the morning?

Over the course of one hot summer, Marisa moves between her apartment terrace, her office, and her company's retreat in the mountains, as the clock ticks down towards a horrifying 'team-building' weekend.

Life can't go on like this - can it?

Marisa is bitter but also funny and curious, she loves culture and people - just not like this. This is a book for everyone who has ever wanted more- more time, more meaning, more connection.