After the Winter () is a novel by Mexican writer Guadalupe Nettel, published in 2014 by the publishing house Editorial Anagrama and winner of the prestigious Premio Herralde in its edition of the same year. The story follows Claudio, a Cuban misanthrope who lives in New York City, and Cecilia, a lonely Mexican who is doing her postgraduate studies in Paris, whose lives eventually become intertwined in a brief affair.
According to the author, the title of the novel refers to the ability of people to resurface after experiencing pain.
Plot
Claudio has a comfortable life in the apartment that he bought after years of working in a publishing house and in which he does not allow any other human being to enter. His life is based on well-defined routines that allow him to make the most of his time to work, go to the gym and engage in intellectual activities that help him feel superior to the people around him. Before living in New York City he lived in Cuba, where he had had a childhood full of hardship, although he always leaned towards letters. Some time ago he had started a relationship with Ruth, an older millionaire woman who disliked him for considering her quiet and uncomplicated. Cecilia, meanwhile, is on a scholarship pursuing postgraduate studies for a Master's degree in Paris. Since she was little she had been a lonely girl with unusual hobbies, like walking through cemeteries. She currently lives in an apartment opposite the Père Lachaise Cemetery.
One day, Cecilia's neighbor, Tom, complains about the noise of her radio, which gives way to the beginning of a friendship that eventually leads them to fall in love, although they do not become lovers. Cecilia soon learns that Tom has an incurable disease and that he could only have a few years to live. One morning Tom announces that he would make a short trip to Sicily, but months go by without Cecilia hearing from him, leaving her devastated. Claudio travels with Ruth to Paris for a few days and meets Cecilia, whom he becomes obsessed with when he convinces himself that she was the woman destined to make him happy. When he returns to New York he constantly writes passionate letters, although he maintains his relationship with Ruth due to the inconvenience that revealing the truth would cause.
Claudio visits Cecilia in Paris and they start an affair. She is not as enthusiastic as Claudio, but she gets carried away. Later, she visits him in New York, where little by little she discovers Claudio's true personality. One day when Claudio does not return from work, Cecilia finds dozens of calls from Ruth in a threatening tone, as Ruth had been spying on them and knew that Cecilia was staying with him. Cecilia leaves Claudio's house, returns to Paris and decides never to answer his messages again. Claudio becomes desperate and unstable, a phase from which he only manages to resurface from by becoming addicted to athletics. He participates in several marathons, but is injured in the Boston Marathon bombing, losing a leg.
Tom returns from his trip and Cecilia realizes that she still loves him. They begin a relationship and live together for several months before Tom gets worse and ends up in the hospital. Although there were chances of being saved through a transplant, Tom's condition worsens faster than expected and he dies. Cecilia spends months in a depression, cutting off all contact with the world and leaving her studies. Claudio is forced to acclimate his new life without a leg. He gradually resigns himself to staying with Ruth, who helps him as best she can, and accepts that he will never find his idealized perfect woman. In Paris, some friends of Cecilia visit her and, seeing her condition, take her to live with them. Cecilia gradually recovers, decides to stay in Paris and finally overcomes Tom's death.