THE CRY OF THE MUTE

Nicolau, 47, works—exemplarily, it must be said—as a dishwasher in a restaurant. But the apparent stability of his simple life begins to crumble the morning he catches the owner negotiating with a dishwasher salesman. Henrique Schneider's award-winning novel, The Cry of the Mutes, chronicles these 24 hours in Nicolau's life. Desperate at the prospect of unemployment, he doesn't have the courage to return home, spends the night among prostitutes and bar tables, plans to tell his superiors a few truths, and literally set the restaurant on fire. The next day, however, a surprise awaits him.