Una tórrida mañana de julio en el centro de Madrid. Nuestro protagonista, un médico que ha derivado en homeópata arruinado, recibe la llamada de su exmujer, que le hace una propuesta surrealista: perdonarle los meses de pensión de alimentos que le debe, por la custodia del hijo que tienen en común, a cambio de que aloje en su casa a su único hermano: un químico genial que arrastra una larga depresión y que ha encontrado consuelo en las novelas de Conan Doyle. Hasta tal punto se ha obsesionado con el personaje que ha dado en pensar que es la encarnación del verdadero Sherlock Holmes, como Alonso Quijano creyó ser don Quijote. Así, aceptando el ultimátum de su exmujer -±¿cuñado sin pensión o pensión sin cuñado?-, nuestro narrador se verá obligado a convivir con la ±reencarnación del detective más famoso de todos los tiempos y, como un trasunto del cronista Watson, le seguirá en sus investigaciones, acomodándose a su enajenación y rompiendo la cuarta pared con el lector. El ficticio Holmes (siendo el auténtico un personaje de ficción en sí) se presentará como tal. Su vasta inteligencia y sus formidables dotes deductivas le permitirán impresionar a sus ±clientes y obtener de ellos un trato respetuoso frente a sus reflexiones tan certeras como decimonónicas. Máximo Pradera hace gala de su espléndido conocimiento del universo holmesiano para convertir esta historia -mediante los resortes de la comedia y la sátira- en una magnífica novela de enigma que, al tiempo, hará estallar en carcajadas al lector. Un festín metaliterario muy bien servido, galardonado en la XXXVI Edición del Premio Jaén de Novela, uno de los de más solera y prestigio de España. A torrid morning in July in the center of Madrid. Our protagonist, a doctor who has become a ruined homeopath, receives a call from his ex-wife, who makes a surreal proposal: forgive him the months of alimony that he owes him, for the custody of the child they have in common, in exchange for let him house his only brother: a genius chemist in a long depression who has found comfort in the novels of Conan Doyle. He has become so obsessed with the character that he has led him to think that he is the incarnation of the true Sherlock Holmes, as Alonso Quijano believed himself to be Don Quixote. Thus, accepting the ultimatum of his ex-wife - "brother-in-law without pension or pension without brother-in-law?" -, our narrator will be forced to live with the "reincarnation" of the most famous detective of all time and, as a transcript of the chronicler Watson , will follow him in his investigations, accommodating himself to his alienation and breaking the fourth wall with the reader. The fictional Holmes (the real one being a fictional character himself) will present himself as such. His vast intelligence and his formidable deductive gifts will allow him to impress his "clients" and obtain respectful treatment from them in the face of his accurate and nineteenth-century reflections. M̀ximo Pradera shows off his splendid knowledge of the Holmesian universe to turn this story -through the springs of comedy and satire- into a magnificent enigma novel that, at the same time, will make the reader burst into laughter. A very well served metaliterary feast, awarded in the XXXVI Edition of the Jǎn Novel Prize, one of the most traditional and prestigious in Spain.
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