How many times have you wondered what is waiting after life? It is a subject that no one likes to confront, that one tries to push away from the mind because it distresses us. However, it sometimes happens to me that I stop, even if it is only for five minutes, and I think about the reason of many things. Maybe I should enjoy everything better because I don’t know when it will be the end of this journey; maybe I should prioritize the important things, not the urgent ones, because not everything urgent is important, even if it seems so. But to be able to carry out all of this, you must really believe it, and that is difficult. Knowing how to live life in a relaxed way and always doing what you like is not easy, but it is not impossible either, and one must know how to think about life to arrive where you want to get, no matter what others think, or what we have been told.

Maybe this is the reason why animals have it much easier, or that is what I would like to believe, than us. They accompany us, they know when we are sad, they encourage us, but they live today, without thinking beyond. Alejandro Palomas, following his last novel UN PERRO, which already holds three editions and follows the good path of his two previous novels, UNA MADRE and UN HIJO (recently awarded with the premio Nacional de Literatura Infantil y Juvenil) has given us a small gift by publishing with Ediciones Destino LAS DOS ORILLAS. A book that is a gift, illustrated by Fernando Vicente, where he asks himself where our dogs go when fate separates us from them and how far are they able to get to return us what we lost with their absence. In LAS DOS ORILLAS, past and present come together and, at Amalia’s house, they celebrate Fer’s birthday. Between one dish and another, the family reunion will bring pieces of intimacy, shared stories and nostalgia, but perhaps Fer will have an unexpected gift from Rulfo, his dog and faithful friend, who from his fleeting trip to the world of the two shores, conspires to return the joy to Fer and celebrate the miracle with which life, when we listen to it, may surprise us.

A short but deep book to offer to animal lovers and to all those who want to listen more to our life to surprise us, and be able to enjoy every minute without thinking of anything else and cross to the other shore happy, which is important, and with a smile.