La caimana

"It is genuinely astonishing to read on the last page of this book that the story is based on real events. As a young man, Faoro brings home a caiman baby and raises her. A close, intimate bond is formed between man and animal. Faoro's wife ?ngela eventually enters the picture, and it is she who continues living with and caring for the three-meter-long reptile after Faoro's death. Mar?a Eugenia Manrique, who met the animal protagonist when she was a child, describes the female caiman lovingly and respectfully. As strange as it sounds, the animal was a kind of substitute child for Faoro and ?ngela and a playmate to the neighbourhood children. This story about unconditional loyalty and the love of animals is illustrated by Ram?n Par?s on double-page spreads, which seems absolutely appropriate given the protagonist's physiognomy. The pictures, which hint at illustration styles of the 1950s and 1960s, possess great narrative quality and convey the cheerfulness and soft melancholy of the story very well"--From the publisher's web site.