"There are no friends, only moments of friendship," Jules Renard noted in his private journal. True to this spirit, and with the rare mixture of rawness, emotion, and humor that characterizes Carlos Pardo's style, Lejos de Kakania is an unforgiving dissection of friendship. After having failed his studies, the narrator returns to his city to take care of his mother and compete with his brother for family affection. There, he meets the poet Virgilio López, and together they embark on a journey.