One Hundred Guinea Pigs

Friendship makes life worth living, and worth ending too.

Eufrasia Vela is a caregiver – it’s not just her job. But when she begins working with Dona Carmen, a bedridden elderly woman who spends her days staring out the window at her now-obstructed view of the sea, she confronts the limits to her ability to help. That is, until Dona Carmen makes a big, last request: to transform her caretaking from helping her stay alive to helping her die. A good death has much in common with a good life, after all, and incapacity, loneliness, and isolation are devastations that a compassionate friend can help ease. Dignity, community, respect, and generosity – they’re what Eufrasia offers her clients, and what their friendship offers her. One Hundred Guinea Pigs is the lifegiving, warm-hearted novel about euthanasia you didn’t know you needed.

‘Fast-paced and witty…Gustavo Rodriguez is a remarkable talent.’ – World Literature Today

‘Both classic and rhythmic, the story unfolds into a lively road trip through old age. A final whirlwind before the inevitable leap: this luminous novel is a compassionate tribute to hearts and bodies that are weary yet remain defiant in the face of decrepitude.’ – Le Monde

‘A tragicomic story, moving, crafted with skill and humour.’ – Claudia Pineiro, author of Elena Knows