The epicenter is a book of seven stories. This is the first work by Nerea Loiola Pikaza for adults who has chosen a suggestive title to publish her first work: Epicenter.

By definition, the epicenter is the part of the soil where earthquakes or seismic movements are most perceived, and in the reading of the book I thought that the image offered to us with the epicenter is really accurate. Because in all accounts there is an earthquake that will radically change the life and situation of the characters until then. I would say that in all of them the general issue is the same: they are all examples of the impact that facts and decisions have on the lives of the characters. The impacts show us how they question “normal” life, highlighting the complexity and hypocrisy of the characters.

The book contains more elements that share all the stories. For example, the situations that arise have to do with small things, with the thoughts, feelings and phrases that the characters have in their day-to-day lives. Sex and desire work as a thread between stories. That is, most characters show doubts, lies, fears and pleasures about the subject. They are prisoners of power relations and sex is a demonstration of performance that is their life. Some characters, although suspicious, use alternative therapies to overcome their ailments and difficulties. I think they're a sample of contemporary literature and the current landscape.

Each story also has differential characteristics and the epicenter of each character is different. On the white sea, the baby's earthquake is due to his mother's illness and possible death. The story called the epicenter is a change of work that provokes the seismic movement in the lives of the characters and shows paternalism in the relationship between partners.

The stories follow a linear structure of traditional stories. There's an initial situation, and then the earthquake breaks. What's different from traditional stories is that stories leave the end unsolved, they're open. The reader will find himself in the need to complete these stories.

It is a paused reading book – a story today and another the next day, for example – to be able to enjoy and understand the weight and essence of stories. I look forward to Loyola's next books, as I read something else.