Description
JOI
Book Summary
A girl named Joi disappears into a forest at the age of twelve. Two years later, she is found with no memory, no past, and a wound on her leg. Her only link to the world is a strange joy that predates language. During her absence, she has wandered through a foreign city, taking refuge in a marginal park where her silence and fragility alter the order of things. The arrival of a character named Face triggers a profound transformation. This is the first novel by Ángela Segovia, a dark fable about what the world does not know how to welcome without destroying.
What is it about?
The story follows Joi, a twelve-year-old girl who wanders into a forest and disappears. When she is found two years later, she has lost her memory and has no past she can recount. She only retains a wound on her leg and a sensation she experiences when everything goes quiet. During that time, Joi has traveled through a foreign city and lived in the Forest, a park on the margins where she lives among vagrants and street vendors. Her silent and fragile presence disrupts the invisible order of that place. The appearance of Face marks a turning point: the joy that sustained her ceases to be a refuge and becomes a loss. The novel explores the limits of hospitality, violence, and the fragility of that which has not yet been domesticated by the world.
Main themes
- The boundary between the sacred and the wild in nature.
- The loss of memory and identity as a radical experience.
- Hospitality and the world's inability to welcome the different.
- The violence implicit in the contact between the domesticated and the untamed.
- Joy as a refuge and its transformation into loss.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is aimed at readers interested in contemporary literary fiction that seeks to explore the limits of narrative, with poetic prose and a dense atmosphere. It is ideal for those who appreciate dark fables, stories that delve into human fragility, and narratives that combine realism and symbolism. It will also be attractive to followers of Ángela Segovia's poetry who wish to discover her first foray into the novel.
What this book offers
- An immersive reading experience with prose of rare poetic intensity.
- A deep reflection on hospitality and violence towards what does not fit into the established order.
- A contemporary fable that questions the boundaries between the human and the wild.
- A story that invites reflection on the fragility of memory and identity.
Technical specifications
- Author: SEGOVIA, ANGELA
- Publisher: EDICIONES LA UÑA ROTA
- Language: Spanish
- Topic: MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY FICTION
- Collection: LIBROS DEL CONDOTIERO
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: March 2026
- Number of pages: 300
- Weight: 382 g
Editorial review
Joi represents a narrative debut that translates Ángela Segovia's poetic power into the realm of the novel. The work builds an enveloping atmosphere and a subtle reflection on the fragility of what has not been domesticated. Her prose, dense and evocative, turns the reading into an experience that challenges those looking for fiction that transcends mere plot. It is a literary proposal that may interest readers who value formal experimentation and stories that explore the margins of the human.