#jaumecabre

Confessions, a book by Jaume Cabré, has been presented in English this week. The Catalan work was published in 2011 and it has already been released in Italian, German, Spanish, French, Dutch and Polish. It is agreed that the novel will be brought out in 20 languages in the following months. Last February the book won the Courrier International Prize for “Best foreign book” and was expected to be translated in English in 2015 by Mara Faye Lethem, but Confessions  has been ready in advance.

The book, framed as a letter, is a reflection of evil through infinite time jumps and lots of symbolism. The main character, a boy born after the Spanish Civil War who lives in Barcelona, writes a letter in which he presents his whole life and his deeper thoughts. Jaume Cabré is able to expose mankind’s ability to do wrong, from the Spanish Inquisition to the dehumanization of the Nazism period. “When I start, I never know where the novel and the characters will take me”, Cabré said once in an interview. In this occasion, they have taken him to seven centuries of European history and evil prevailing at all times.

The writer has an original narrative technique which transports the reader from one time and space to another in the middle of a sentence and the relocation happens smoothly. From his first novel to his last one, he has gradually increased the quantity of time jumps. In Confessions sudden changes in time are a continuum.  It strongly differs from the best seller stereotype, but Jaume Cabré’s books achieve thousands of sales. The stories catch the readers thus it is not always easy to put the book down.

I have been attracted by literature since I was really little. I do remember myself spending all nights reading and my mum asking to turn off the light. I love reading all kind of books (although I'm not really interested in fantastic literature). I rather prefer original version than the translation, so I try to read in the writer's original language. 

Some of my favourite writers are the following (and their novels):

Roberto Bolaño: He died at the age of 50, but he could become one of the greatest contemporary writers. Some of his novels are "2666", "Los detectives salves" or "El gaucho insufrible".

Julio Cortázar: his greatest novel is "Rayuela", which is difficult to classify, even for the academics. He has also greatest writings, such as the shortest tales as "Queremos tanto a Glenda".

Jaume Cabré: he is a Catalan university professor which his latest novel, "Jo confesso", constitutes an evil apology. I would think that he will become one of the greatest writers in Catalan language.

Antonio Muñoz Molina: he is my favourite Spanish writer. One of his latest novels "La noche de los tiempos" has been translated in to many languages. He was the director of the Instituto Cervantes of New York and he is one of the most influence intellectuals in Spain. He is really active in his website (See Websites) and he collaborate with the newspaper "El País", in the Culture section.

Des de ben petita em sento atreta pel món dels llibres. Em fascina llegir novel·la -en general de qualsevol àmbit, tot i que no m’entusiasma la fantàstica-. Prefereixo llegir en l’idioma original de l’autor i per això em decanto sempre (si l’idioma m’ho permet) per la versió original. Alguns dels autors (i les seves obres) que més m’agraden són:

- Roberto Bolaño: té obres cèlebres com “2666” o “Los detectives salvajes”, i altres relats de contes més curts com “El Gaucho insufrible”. A Barcelona existeix, de fet, la “Ruta Bolaño”. - Julio Cortázar: “Rayuela” o l’anti-novel·la, com l’anomenen alguns crítics. També té varis llibres de contes, entre ells “Queremos tanto a Glenda”. De Cortázar sempre m’ha agradat molt la seva vessant poètica (Veure Poesia). - Jaume Cabré: “Jo confesso”: és una apologia del mal. Crec que, d’aquí uns anys, serà considerada una obra cabdal de la literatura catalana. - Antonio Muñoz Molina: “La noche de los tiempos”, “Ventanas sobre Manhattan” o “Beatus ille”. És un dels intel·lectuals espanyols que més m’agraden. Escriu també a “El País” i té un blog força despert (Veure Websites).