El hombre que nunca reía / The Man Who Never Smiled (Spanish Edition)

En cierta escuela afamada por su rigor para controlar el comportamiento de los alumnos, trabaja como prefecto un hombre de pocas pulgas y risa nula, ni siquiera una leve sonrisa asoma a sus labios jamás. Todos los niños le temen y huyen de él, pues no sólo no ríe nunca, sino que se dedica a darle de zapes a todo aquel que se cruce en su camino osando emitir la más mínima risilla.

Y no se contenta con dar a diestra y siniestra coscorrones en el patio y los pasillos de la escuela, no, señor, también es todo un cascarrabias andando por la calle: si ve a unos tórtolos besándose en el parque, por ejemplo, también les pone su regañada aunque ni siquiera los conozca. Y como no le gusta platicar con nadie, se la pasa de amargoso metido por las tardes en su cuartucho.

Hasta que una noche de fin de semana se le pasan las copas y entre alucionaciones entabla conversación con algunos niños de la escuela, que le platican por qué sus padres decidieron meterlos en esa escuela tan estricta, pues eran los más simplones del mundo y necesitaban disciplina para dejar de reírse a carcajada loca. El encuentro con esas historias le cambiará la vida.


ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

A story about laughter and its absence. A man discovers that laughing is vital for a happy life and that there is nothing in the world that is worthwhile for drowning expressions of delight. Ignacio Solares, winner of several literary prizes, places at the forefront of the story a befuddled man who manages to overcome his own nature thanks to the laughter of the children who surround him.

In a certain school that is famous for its strict control of its students’ behavior, we find a prefect with little patience and even less mirth; a brief smile never graces his lips. All the children fear him and flee from him, because not only does he never laugh, but he devotes his time to smacking anyone who crosses his path who dares to emit even the slightest giggle. And he isn’t content with slapping people left and right throughout the school hallways and patio; no, sir! He is also a total grouch while walking through the streets: if he sees some lovebirds kissing in the park, for example, he will give them a scolding although he doesn’t even know them. And since he doesn’t like to talk to anybody, he spends his time bitterly holed up in his room.

That is, until one night he overdoes the cocktails and strikes up a conversation with some of the schoolchildren, who tell him why their parents decided to send them to such a strict school. Since they were the most simple souls in the world, their parents decided they needed discipline to make them stop laughing like crazy. The encounter with these stories ends up changing the man’s life for good.