Reading Others

John Mutford's Reader's Diaries on José Saramago's Blindness and Pablo Neruda's The Captain's Verses.

Please visit SPLALit aStore
weblogs

The Sun Over Breda by Arturo Perez-Reverte

In the midst of the Dutch and Spanish dignitaries in the foreground of Diego Velázquez’s war tableau “The Surrender of Breda,” there is a small open space beneath one soldier’s horizontal weapon. It appears to depict the back of the soldier beside him. But it is the suggestion of Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s latest installment in his grandly entertaining Captain Alatriste series that Alatriste, he of the cold gray-green eyes and dauntless courage, was once part of the picture — although his likeness has since been excised.

Was he painted by Velázquez? The claim that he was comes from no less an authority than Íñigo Balboa, Alatriste’s hero-worshiping young companion. Íñigo also claims to have described to Velázquez the visual details of the surrender. Mr. Pérez-Reverte has shaped his third Alatriste book, “The Sun Over Breda,” around this famous painting. In contrast to the more narrative-driven earlier books, “Captain Alatriste” and “Purity of Blood,” this one unfolds on Flemish battlefields rather than in Spain.

So most of the series’s usual, highly enjoyable villainy has been put aside. Enchanting characters like Angélica de Alquézar, she of the “blond corkscrew curls and eyes as blue as the sky over Madrid,” with “a smile identical to the devil’s when, through Eve’s intercession, he tempted Adam to sink his teeth into the fabled apple,” will have to wait until next time.

Although Íñigo’s narration occasionally recapitulates earlier plots (and flashes forward to the time when he is much older, remembering these glory days), the present book’s action is ferociously combative. Mr. Pérez-Reverte, who was once a war correspondent, pieces together the bloody events that led to the Breda surrender in 1625.

Read More

Please visit SPLALit aStore
Spanish Literature

Ines of My Soul, by Isabel Allende

On 11 September 1541, people living in central Chile rebelled against the bearded "viracochas" who had recently established a fortified settlement called Santiago. Though the viracochas had arquebuses and horses, the warriors organised by the local leader Michimalonko were cleverly drilled. The governor of the fledgling city was tricked away by news of armed bands elsewhere. Michimalonko's men attacked, and almost destroyed Santiago.

This uprising is one of many set-pieces in Isabel Allende's new novel. Yet in her description of the 1541 uprising, she mentions the otherwise superfluous date of 11 September three times. For a Chilean living in California, it is imbued with significance: the date of Pinochet's overthrow of Allende in 1973, and, of course, 9/11. Working out its significance in Allende's story of the conquest of Chile becomes fundamental to understanding her brilliant novel.

Read More

Please visit SPLALit aStore
Chilean Literature

Reading Others

Waggish on César Aira's An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter
Orbit Trap on Alberto Manguel's Reading Pictures.
Five Branch Tree on Alejandro González Iñárritu's Amores Perros
BrontëBlog on Carmen Laforet's Nada

Pedro Paramo on film

From Variety:

Alejandro Amenabar co-scribe Mateo Gil is teaming with Spain’s Sogecine and Ariete-Ariane and Portugal’s Take 2000 to write and direct a bigscreen adaptation of Juan Rulfo’s novel “Pedro Paramo,” a seminal work in modern Latin American literature.

Mexican Eugenio Caballero, who won an Academy Award this year for “Pan’s Labyrinth,” has been tapped as art director.

Gil and Caballero are scouting in Jalisco, Mexico, for a ghost village as the film’s key location.

Gil and Sogecine, the film production division of giant Spanish TV conglom Sogecable, worked as helmer and producer on Gil’s flamboyant debut, the 1999 Seville-set thriller “Nobody Knows Anybody.”

Producers of “Pedro Paramo’s” movie version aim to set it up as a Spain-Portugal-Mexico co-production to shoot largely in Mexico by late 2007 or early 2008.

The project’s challenges are less financial than artistic.

Rulfo’s 1955 “Pedro Paramo” follows narrator Juan Preciado to his mother’s native village of Comala, a dust-bowl hell. He only gradually cottons on to the fact that all the villagers he meets are dead.

“Pedro Paramo” had large influence on Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” the cornerstone of magical realism.

But, rather like Marquez’s works, “Pedro Paramo” is thought a huge challenge for film adaptation: Gil himself calls the project “an act of daring.”

Please visit SPLALit aStore
Latin American Cinema

Alfonso Cuarón Interview

For Alfonso Cuaron, it wasn't the complicated array of dazzling single shots that won his superb thriller, "Children of Men," an Oscar nomination for cinematography that the director found most difficult.

"I knew that somehow I would be able to solve the technical aspects — but the biggest problem was coming up with the world, with the social environment we were going to portray."

Based on the 1992 dystopian novel by P.D. James, "Children of Men" tells of a world 20 years in the future that is suffering from global infertility, but it pictures a world a lot like our own, only darker, more twisted and violent. It is a world bereft of hope and filled with terror. England has become fortress England, with armed patrols rounding up immigrants, who are sent off to camps, while insurgent groups bomb cafes and stores.

Meanwhile, the general populace — ghostly in their resignation — ensconces themselves in office cubicles, fretting over the death of a celebrity, the world's youngest person (not yet 19), killed by an angry fan.

"We were very clear we didn't want to convey information by exposition," says Cuaron ("Y Tu Mama Tambien," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"), who wanted to tell the story
Advertisement
visually. "And that had to do with the detail in the frame. We were aware that some detail was going to be subliminal, and some it was clear was going to be obvious. It was always a question of where and how and what was the reference in contemporary society that we're referencing."

Read More

Please visit SPLALit aStore
Mexican+Cinema

100 best novels written in Spanish in the past 25 years

Colombian magazine Semana published a list of the best Spanish language novels of the last 25 years. The list, complied by 80 writers, literary critics and journalists named the 100 best novels written in Spanish.

(...) exclusive as any list. Where is Jorge Volpi's "In Search of Klingsor"?
(sent by Stan Baker)

1. El amor en los tiempos del cólera [Love in the Time of Cholera], Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia, 1985)
2. La fiesta del Chivo [The Feast of the Goat], Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru, 2000)
3. Los detectives salvajes [The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño], Roberto Bolaño (Chile, 1998)
4. 2666, Roberto Bolaño (Chile, 2004)
5. Noticias del imperio, Fernando del Paso (México, 1987)
6. Corazón tan blanco, Javier Marías (Spain, 1992)
7. Bartleby y Compañía [Bartleby & Co.], Enrique Vila-Matas (Spain, 2000)
8. Santa Evita [Santa Evita], Tomás Eloy Martínez (Argentina, 1995)
9. Mañana en la batalla piensa en mí [Tomorrow in the Battle Think On Me], Javier Marías (Spain, 1994)
10. El Desbarrancadero, Fernando Vallejo (Colombia, 2001)
11. La virgen de los sicarios [Our Lady of the Assassins], Fernando Vallejo (Colombia, 1994)
12. El entenado [The Witness], Juan José Saer (Argentina)
13. Soldados de Salamina [Soldiers of Salamis], Javier Cercas (Spain, 2001)
14. Estrella distante [Distant Star], Roberto Bolaño (Chile, 1996)
15. Paisaje después de la batalla, Juan Goytisolo (Spain, 1982)
16. La ciudad de los prodigios [The City of Marvels], Eduardo Mendoza (Spain, 1986)
17. El jinete polaco, Antonio Muñoz Molina (Spain, 1991)
18. El testigo, Juan Villoro (Mexico, 2004)
19. Salón de belleza, Mario Bellatin (Mexico, 2000)
20. Cuando ya no importe, Juan Carlos Onetti (Uruguay, 1993)
21. La tejedora de coronas, Germán Espinosa (Colombia, 1982)
22. El paraíso en la otra esquina, Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru, 2003)
23. Cae la noche tropical, Manuel Puig (Argentina, 1988)
24. Doctor Pasavento, Enrique Vila Matas (Spain, 2006)
25. Herrumbrosas lanzas, Juan Benet (Spain, 1983)
26. Empresas y tribulaciones de Maqroll el Gaviero, Álvaro Mutis (Colombia, 1993)
27. El invierno en Lisboa, Antonio Muñoz Molina (Spain, 1987)
28. Verdes valles, colinas rojas, Ramiro Pinilla (Spain, 2005)
29. Mal de amores, Ángeles Mastretta (Mexico, 1996)
30. Donde las mujeres, Álvaro Pombo (Spain, 1996)
31. El pasado, Alan Pauls (Argentina, 2003)
32. El rastro, Jorge Gómez Jiménez (Venezuela, 1993)
33. Santo oficio de la memoria, Mempo Giardinelli (Argentina, 1991)
34. Los años con Laura Díaz, Carlos Fuentes (Mexico, 1999)
35. Plenilunio, Antonio Muñoz Molina (Spain, 1997)
36. Todas las almas, Javier Marías (Spain, 1989)
37. Cartas cruzadas, Darío Jaramillo (Colombia, 1995)
38. La casa del padre, Justo Navarro (Spain, 1994)
39. La visita en el tiempo, Arturo Uslar Pietri (Venezuela, 1990)
40. La historia de Horacio, Tomás González (Colombia, 2000)
41. La grande, Juan José Saer (Argentina, 2005)
42. El arte de la fuga, Sergio Pitol (Mexico, 1996)
43. La velocidad de la luz, Javier Cercas (Spain, 2005)
44. Olvidado rey Gudu, Ana María Matute (Spain, 1997)
45. La gesta del marrano, Marco Aguinis (Argentina, 1991)
46. Un viejo que leía novelas de amor, Luis Sepúlveda (Chile, 1989)
47. Plata quemada, Ricardo Piglia (Argentina, 1997)
48. El vuelo de la reina, Tomás Eloy Martínez (Argentina, 2002)
49. Diablo guardián, Xavier Velasco (Mexico, 2003)
50. Igur Neblí, Miquel de Palol (Spain, 1994)
51. La nieve del almirante, Álvaro Mutis (Colombia, 1986)
52. Vigilia del almirante, Augusto Roa Bastos (Paraguay, 1992)
53. Un campeón desparejo, Adolfo Bioy Casares (Argentina, 1993)
54. Los pichiciegos, Fogwill (Argentina, 1993)
55. La burla del tiempo, Mauricio Electorat (Chile, 2004)
56. Una novela china, César Aira (Argentina, 1987)
57. El inútil de la familia, Jorge Edwards (Chile, 2004)
58. Lumperica, Diamela Eltit (Chile, 1983)
59. La otra mano de Lepanto, Carmen Boullosa (Mexico, 2005)
60. En estado de memoria, Tununa Mercado (Argentina, 1990)
61. Veinte años y un día, Jorge Semprún (Spain, 2003)
62. Ladrón de lunas, Isaac Montero (Spain, 1999)
63. La cuadratura del círculo, Álvaro Pombo (Spain, 1999)
64. No me esperen en abril, Alfredo Bryce Echenique (Peru, 1995)
65. Luna Caliente, Mempo Giardinelli (Argentina, 1983)
66. Una sombra ya pronto serás, Osvaldo Soriano (Argentina, 1990)
67. El cuarto mundo, Diamela Eltit (Chile, 1988)
68. La silla del Águila, Carlos Fuentes (Mexico, 2003)
69. Temblor, Rosa Montero (Spain, 1990)
70. Historia del silencio, Pedro Zarraluki (Spain, 1995)
71. Los fantasmas, César Aira (Argentina, 1990)
72. Angosta, Héctor Abad Faciolince (Colombia, 2003)
73. La muerte como efecto secundario, Ana María Shua (Argentina, 1997)
74. La orilla oscura, José María Merino (Spain, 1985)
75. La vida exagerada de Martín Romaña, Alfredo Bryce Echenique (Peru, 1981)
76. Sin remedio, Antonio Caballero (Colombia, 1984)
77. El tiempo de las mujeres, Ignacio Martínez de Pisón (Spain, 2003)
78. Al morir Don Quijote, Andrés Trapiello (Spain, 2005)
79. Glosa, Juan José Saer (Argentina, 1986)
80. Crónica de un iniciado, Abelardo Castillo (Argentina, 1991)
81. El traductor, Salvador Benesdra (Argentina, 2002)
82. Cumpleaños, César Aira (Argentina, 2001)
83. La sexta lámpara, Pablo de Santis (Argentina, 2005)
84. El embrujo de Shangai, Juan Marsé (Spain, 1993
85. El maestro de esgrima, Arturo Pérez Reverte (Spain, 1988)
86. Carreteras secundarias, Ignacio Martínez de Pisón (Spain, 1996)
87. Rosario Tijeras, Jorge Franco (Colombia, 1999)
88. La sombra del viento, Carlos Ruiz Safón (Spain, 2001)
89. Camino a la perdición, Luis Mateo Díez (Spain, 1995)
90. A sus plantas rendido un león, Osvaldo Soriano (Argentina, 1988)
91. Memorias de mis putas tristes, Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia, 2005)
92. Autómata, Adolfo García Ortega (Spain, 2006)
93. Del amor y otros demonios, Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia, 1994)
94. Ella cantaba boleros, Guillermo Cabrera Infante (Cuba, 1996)
95. La novela luminosa, Mario Levrero (Uruguay, 2005)
96. La guerra de Galio, Héctor Aguilar Camín (Chile, 1994)
97. Arráncame la vida, Ángeles Mastreta (Mexico, 1998)
98. Arturo, la estrella más brillante, Reinaldo Arenas (Cuba, 1984)
99. La orilla africana, Rodrigo Rey Rosa (Guatemala, 1999)
100. Los vigilantes, Diamela Eltit (Chile, 1994)



Please visit SPLALit aStore
Latin American Literature

Review: The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño

"God bless them, they were so young, with their hair down to their shoulders and carrying all those books.” This wistful observation comes from an aging, drunken, failed poet in The Savage Detectives, the grand novel that made Roberto Bolaño famous in Latin America when it was published in 1998. The tension between vitality and its erosion—between youth’s gorgeous recklessness and its inevitable decay—fuels this remarkable book and fills it with an aching sadness.

When Bolaño, a peripatetic Chilean who also lived in Mexico and Spain, died of liver failure in 2003, at the age of 50, he left behind 10 novels and three short-story collections, all written in the last decade of his life. His major works are The Savage Detectives and 2666, a massive posthumous novel which will be published in English for the first time next year.

Read More

Meet the Visceral Realists: a razor-tongued, pot-smoking, self-obsessed gang of horny Mexican poets. There's Ulises Lima, a vagabond who infects his gracious hosts with scabies. And Luscious Skin, a lothario who recounts a "butt-lashing" sexual encounter over four very detailed pages. They're the anti-heroes in The Savage Detectives (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $27), a bizarre and mesmerizing novel by the late Chilean-born author Roberto Bolano.

Just now published in English, the book is a fist-to-gut introduction to a deceptively powerful writer who died at age 50 in 2003. It's a lustful story--lust for sex, lust for self, lust for the written word. On a self-destructive quest to figure out what the hell their own movement is even about, the gangster poets swing you from Mexico to Paris and back, eluding murderous pimps, plotting revolutions, and having lots and lots of sex along the way.

Read More

Please visit SPLALit aStore
Chilean Literature

Gabriel García Márquez at the International Congress of Spanish Language.

"To think that a million people would read something written in the solitude of my room with 28 letters of the alphabet and two fingers as my sole arsenal seems insane"

Please visit SPLALit aStore
Colombian Literature

The World Spanish Language Congress started yestarday in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
King Juan Carlos I of Spain and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe will open the congress, alongside Nobel prizewinner in Literature Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Mexican Carlos Fuentes, Spaniards Antonio Muñoz Molina and Spanish Language Royal Academy director Victor Garcia de la Concha, Argentinean Eloy Martinez and former President Belisario Betancurt will be at the podium along with Marquez.

Please visit SPLALit aStore
Latin American Literature

The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño post has been updated.

Please visit SPLALit aStore
Latin American Literature

Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes' novel "The Crystal Frontier" is being adapted to film. The script was written by Spanish Fernando León Rodríguez under Fuentes supervision.

Please visit SPLALit aStore
Latin American Literature