Five big contemporary writers and their books
Manuel Vázquez Montalbán.The best-known Spanish
crime writer of the modern era gave private dick Pepe
Carvalho the lead in classics likeAsesinato en el Comité
Central(1981), but also wrote a raft of thrillers.Galíndez
(1990), based on the murder of a Basque activist in the
Caribbean in the 1950s, was a big hit.Antonio Muñoz Molina. An Andalusian who has set
thrillers in Lisbon, Madrid and his current home, NewYork,
Muñoz Molina impressed from the off with his firstnoir
flavoured novel,El invierno en Lisboa(1987).Sefarad
(2001), a moving wartime love story, is another excellent
read.Javier Marías. One of the biggest names in Spanish
literature began in the 1970s in the plot-thin style of the
nouveau romanbut found commercial success later with
elegant, psychological novels.Corazón tan blanco(1992),
the story of a young man slowly learning about his
secretive father’s past, stands out.Arturo Pérez-Reverte. Murcian author Pérez-Reverte is
the pick of the various Spanish authors putting out
historical thrillers. His 17thcentury sword-for-hire, Capitán
Diego Alatriste, has become a swashbuckling megastar,
realised most recently inCorsarios de Levante(2006).
The most expensive Spanish language film ever made,
Alatriste(2006), brought the captain to life on the big
screen.Carlos Ruiz Zafón. In sales terms, Zafón’s masterful
La sombra del viento(2001) has taken the Spanish thriller
to a new level.The twisting story of a boy, a book called
The Shadow of the Wind(ring any bells?) and the devil in
pre- and post-Civil War Barcelona proved a global
publishing phenomenon.92- Identity: the
building blocks of
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and philosophy
3. Art and
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5. Cinema
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6. Media and
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7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
Carme Rierabegan as
an essayist in the early
1980s, but has made her
name writing novels and
short stories in Catalan,
Castilian and Mallorquín.
Dins el darrer blau
(1994), about an enclave
of Majorcan Jews failing
to escape the Inquisition,
was a popular and
critical hit.
Almudena Grandes’
take on femininity has
been more erotically
charged, notably with her
first novelLas edades de
Lulú(1989), documenting
a young woman’s sexual
experiences. More
recentlyLos aires
difíciles(2002) expertly
aligned contemporary
and historical narrative
to evoke passion and
redemption in a coastal
Andalusian town.
Rosa Monterois an
esteemedEl País
journalist with a raft of
novels to her name.La
loca de la casa(2003) is
her most personal work,
blurring fiction with
autobiography to ponder
everything from midgets
to sign language among
gorillas; more accessible
than it might sound.
Three
contemporary
Spanish
female authors