‘Cien cuyes’ by Gustavo Rodríguez

Eufrasia Vela, a middle-aged single mother, works in Lima as caregiver to the affluent elderly whose families, for one reason or another, are absent. Originally from Simbal, a northern Peruvian village, she and her sister Merta moved to Lima in their youth. Merta is a registered nurse who helps raise Nicolás, Eufrasia’s son. Eufrasia cares for Doña Carmen, in a house turned dark since an apartment complex was built nearby, blocking Carmen’s view and increasing her isolation. Eufrasia used to also work for Camen’s friend Doña Pollo, who decided to move to a retirement home where she became a member of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ group of octogenarians. Aware that Eufrasia lost half of her income when Pollo moved out, Carmen suggests that Eufrasia offer her services to Jack Harrison, another lonely neighbour, whose family lives abroad. Both Jack and Carmen grow so fond of Eufrasia’s empathic care, that they ask her to assist in their deaths (and the novel’s straight-faced tone makes such a proposal seem natural). Each insists on paying Eufrasia for the extra service. Eufrasia is more worried about the ethics of accepting money for an act of love than about possible legal implications. Yet, realizing she would become unemployed if she helped Carmen and Jack, Eufrasia remembers the practical lesson of an uncle, who told her that ten guinea pigs (‘cuyes’ in Spanish) should be enough to start a new life. Cuyes are a symbol of Peruvian culture, with connotations that go from culinary to spiritual; but the hundred guinea pigs in the title of Gustavo Rodríguez’s Cien cuyes soon gain another meaning, presaging the rest of the novel. After the deaths of Carmen and Jack (amounting to 20 cuyes), Eufrasia is hired by Pollo’s retirement home. There, Eufrasia organizes movie nights to help strengthen the residents’ sense of belonging, despite their disparate backgrounds and encroaching mortality; as one character puts it, ‘fiction keeps friction away’. After the sudden death of one of them, the remaining members of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ make a proposition to Eufrasia that will have consequences far beyond their private lives, causing a media furor – and mirroring what the novel itself would do outside fiction.

Cien cuyes won the prestigious Alfaguara Prize in 2023. In their minutes, the jury describes the book as ‘a tragicomic novel […] that reflects one of the great conflicts of our time: our societies are increasingly aging and hostile toward the elderly’ (translated from the Spanish). While inviting debate, the book’s humorous and neutral tone resists easy descriptions of its attitude towards assisted dying. In interviews, Rodríguez states his being pleased with the ‘tragicomedy’ label, because he sees his humour and tenderness towards his characters as necessary tools to approach difficult themes. Many articles highlight the uncanny humour in the novel; though some call it ‘dark’, the reviewer Elena Santos disagrees, arguing that it comes from a lightness and directness that signal a careful narrative strategy. Santos underscores how the novel’s linear arc adds legibility to the complex issues surrounding assisted dying, echoing the author’s intention, as stated in interviews, to naturalize death. Other reviewers link such lightness to the many pop culture references that portray Lima as a melting pot. The films and songs invoked by Eufrasia function like a collective memory, building community: identity landmarks that help ground us when aging memories and changing cities fail to orient us. The Aubixa Foundation, whose mission is to promote Alzheimer’s awareness, has recommended the book. The importance of companionship in the novel does not, however, trivialize social disparities; these erupt, for example, when Eufrasia tells Jack that people with money can retire, while the poor need their kids to care for them in old age. Moreover, the novel is aware of current events: during her commute, Merta hears that the Supreme Court granted Ana Estrada’s appeal to have her assisted death decriminalized, should she decide to end her life. One article published by the interest group Europa Laica connects the dilemmas of Eufrasia to the conscientious objections of those involved in assisted dying, using the novel as a starting point to reflect on the dilemmas of judges and healthcare workers when faced with the appeals of Ana Estrada and María Benito for their right to die.