“Crying over a ledger is forbidden—the ink will run.” “Respite” was written in 1959, when the revolution triumphed in Cuba and brought a sense of impending change to Uruguay. Therefore, the little office man Santome dreams not of an overcoat (like Gogol’s Akaki Akakievich, but of unheard-of wealth - of love. He writes a diary not in impersonal calligraphy, but in a nervous, personal handwriting. Santome invents love for himself, becoming a reality, he straightens his back and sees the sky and other people around. Mario Benedetti differs significantly from those who formed the core of the new novel of Latin America. Against the backdrop of fireworks of mythological fiction, magical realism, his everyday, subdued, fundamentally anti-romantic prose with everyday heroes and old-fashioned psychologism creates that artistic philosophy of history, which is. the main achievement and contribution of the Latin American novel to the world culture of the twentieth century. Mario Benedetti created his own version of modern realism. The hero of “Respite,” an average Montevideo, is waiting for retirement, wants to forget about numbers and see “another sky.” will not rebel, but will go to a cafe, wash down the bitterness and irritation with a cup of coffee. What we have before us is the psychopathology of an alienated and deceived person. Circular deception here defines the system of relationships between office workers and bosses, husbands and wives, friends and acquaintances, children and parents. The clear sound of human drama is constantly interrupted by a rattling, tango melody about “broken love,” “lost life.” Is such a hero capable of anything? Benedetti captured in “Respite” only the possibility of change. A person in the dimension of fluid life, moreover, not a Man with a capital M, but an average person - the one through whom history is made with all the contradictions, dramas and tragedies. Benedetti asks him the question of our time - the question of human possibilities, of humanism, and, therefore, of the future of humanity. Is today's small and even petty person capable of becoming a new person? Can he or can he not meet the ideals and demands that our time puts forward? Benedetti creates a panorama of the historical existence of the Uruguayans and Uruguay, changing with their country and following its history. A topic relevant in the era of change and unrest for all peoples and countries. The film adaptation of the novel “Respite” (La tregua) was nominated for an Oscar in 1975 ., and also received the Amarcord Award from Federico Fellini.