November 2020. In the midst of the state of emergency, Jon — a 23-year-old student — and César — a transporter in his early forties — cross Spain from Navarra to Seville in a rundown truck, ignoring health restrictions. They have barely seen each other a couple of times after meeting on Grindr and embark on a quixotic quest: to find the last open sauna, supposedly hidden in a clandestine venue in Seville.
To pass the time on the trip, César asks Jon to read the beginning of the novel he is writing. Jon reluctantly agrees, hoping to uncover some truth about his companion’s identity. As they head south, Jon’s story intertwines with other tales that, following the tradition of Boccaccio’s Decameron, compose the narrator’s life journey.
Memory, conversations with a former lover, nostalgia, regret, guilt, and hope unfold in an intimate mosaic that explores the bonds and limits of desire in exceptional times.
After the success of Lodo, his first novel, La última sauna del mundo confirms Julen Azcona’s ability to take narrative risks and surprise with the development of his stories.
