In Borja, in 2012, a woman restored a painting, and the world burst out laughing. Immediately, the woman and her painting became both an icon and a meme.

Fifteen years later, the author of this book and his partner, an art expert, travel to Borja with the intention of writing about what happened. During their journey, various storylines unfold: the astonishing appearance of the restored artwork, the origin of the original painting eighty years earlier, the legal disputes between the owners, and the unusual opera in Las Vegas based on the work. What did the world see in Cecilia to immortalize her? What impact has she had on the history of art? Who profited from this global phenomenon? Who owns our cultural heritage? And finally, why did Cecilia dare to restore the work? Why does everyone who sees it burst out laughing?

The Fountain of Joy is at once a road novel , a reflection on contemporary art, and a dissection of one of the most complex and demanding phenomena of our time: virality. Millanes Rivas has written a masterful and exquisite novel that defies the boundaries of narrative genre to reflect on authorship, the passage of time, and the value of community as the ultimate resistance against oblivion.

Available in bookstores on October 14th.