Last Day of a Prior Life

"A ghost story without ghosts that, beyond its formal elegance, explores loneliness, the cycles in which our lives revolve, and the immeasurable challenges of affection."--Mariana Enríquez, author of Our Share of Night

In this contemporary ghost story, award-winning author Andrés Barba eerily explores how the past can hold us captive, as a woman encounters a boy with an otherworldly stare in an empty house.

While eagerly preparing a house for prospective buyers, a woman finds herself face to face with a strange sight: a seven-year-old boy who doesn't blink. Seemingly appearing and disappearing before her again and again, he sooner resembles an apparition. But one thing is clear: the boy wants something from her. Choosing to leave her everyday world behind, the woman steps through the looking glass, inadvertently nurturing a disturbing co-dependence and discovering a suspended time, a loop, and another life in the process.

Containing all the elements of a perfect ghost story, Last Day of a Prior Life is a richly atmospheric, disturbing, and dazzling gem of a novel that calls to mind the gothic tales of Shirley Jackson and the fractured realities of Black Mirror. Award-winning author Andrés Barba demonstrates his exquisite talent for dissecting human intimacy and excavating the links between past and present, while delivering a masterful exploration of human longing and the ties that bind us, even across time itself.

Translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Harpervia
Published: 08/25/2026
ISBN: 9780063352056
Pages: 176

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 06/08/2026