Zodiaco

Not-quite-30-year-old Leo lives alone in his apartment, where he makes a living translating tediously boring pharmaceutical pamphlets. Ever since his girlfriend Virginia left him, Leo hasn’t been able to summon the energy to so much as open his front door—let alone leave the apartment—wallowing as he is in his own misery. To make matters worse, the soundtrack to his despair is his neighbors’ incessant lovemaking, which only serves to remind him what he’s missing out on. When Leo thinks that he recognizes the voices of the girls visiting the adjacent apartment, though, his life takes a very interesting turn indeed. This brief, hypnotic novel plumbs the depths of desire, melancholy, and despondency with a sweeping rhythm that blends the mysterious and the psychological to perfection.