Magius “Black Metal”
The story of the early Norwegian black metal scene as a comic: the author turns the protagonists into pre-teens, so the storyline is gruesome, funny, and absurdly silly at the same time. Reality, of course, wasn’t funny at all. Great adaptation, excellent drawings—a must-have for all fans.
Verdict: must read
Arturo Pérez-Reverte “Falcó”
The first installment of this noir trilogy is set at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War: Falcó is tasked with liberating Antonio Primo de Rivera from a republican prison. He will fail, as per historical fact, but the transgressive antihero manages to survive in a net of betrayal. A good historical novela negra.
Verdict: worth reading
David Uclés “La península de las casas vacías”
A 700-page novel about the Spanish Civil War that requires more historical and literary knowledge than I possess. A tough and not very entertaining read, which I am almost proud to have finished. I read it as a member of a book club, where I was given additional information that at least partially explained some subplots.
Verdict: worth reading
Álvaro Pombo “1936”
An autobiographically tinged novel set in Santander in 1936: the Pombo family is split—the father is a republican, the son (Álvaro Pombo) a falangist, as is the whole city. The book slowly builds up, but it is always clear that it will end badly.
Verdict: worth reading
Sara Morales “¿Cuándo se come aquí? - El gran golpe de Siniestro Total”
The history of how one of Spain’s foremost punk bands, Siniestro Total, from the rather unlikely place of Vigo in Galicia, came into being. A nice, short book that recreates the Movida Viguesa while you read.
Verdict: worth reading
Arturo Pérez-Reverte “Eva”
The second book in the Falcó series: this turncoat spy is sent to Tangier by the Franco insurgents. His mission is to prevent a ship carrying the republic’s gold from setting sail. A very atmospheric story set in 1937, where it’s impossible to know who’s good or bad.
Verdict: worth reading
Carmen Mola “La red púrpura”
The second installment of the Carmen Mola series sees Inspector Elena Blanco hunt down a clandestine network that organizes gruesome fights. Another page-turner.
Verdict: worth reading
Carmen Mola “La novia gitana”
An excellent crime novel about a gruesome double murder case that occurs seven years apart. No wonder the authors (it’s a trio) have been so successful; it’s a real page-turner.
Verdict: worth reading
Fernando García de Cortázar & José Manuel González Vesga “Breve historia de España”
It’s little surprise that this is the best-selling book on Spanish history. The book is anything but brief; I was looking at a tome of 700 densely printed pages, but it is well-written, well-researched, and well-structured. It’s not only linear history, it’s not only chapters and maps—it tries to explain the trajectory of Spanish history. This is why I find the later chapters more interesting. It’s a bit of a letdown that this book ends in 2017 (as stated on the cover) with the Catalan independence movement on the rise, having eclipsed the Basque independence movement. I will get the next edition to understand the last couple of years.
Verdict: must read
Leonardo Padura “Personas decentes”
A Mario Conde crime novel set in 2016 that intertwines the murder of a government official, Obama and the Rolling Stones in Cuba, and a historic murder case. The elderly Conde, an ex-policeman, has become wise and reflective and helps the police, who are apparently stretched thin. Cuban society, with its limitations and deprivations, comes to life as the backdrop for this story, and I wish I knew a bit more about Cuban history. A good, albeit long, book.
Verdict: worth reading
Arturo Pérez-Reverte “Sidi”
A “rewrite” of sorts of the Spanish national epic, brought much closer to reality and given new life by Pérez-Reverte’s skillful writing. I enjoyed reading the book even though I am neither a fan of historical novels nor of medieval novels.
Verdict: worth reading
Aroa Moreno Durán “La hija del comunista”
A girl grows up in the sixties in East Berlin; she’s the daughter of Spanish communists who ended up exiled in the GDR—something that actually happened to a couple of hundred people. She’s torn between communism, her Spanish heritage, and puberty, and flees to West Germany at some point. I like the setup of the story a lot and found the first two-thirds of the book very convincing; the last third, set in West Germany and the inevitable fall of the Wall, felt a bit underwhelming.
Verdict: worth reading
Luis Landero “Lluvia fina”
An excellent novel that recounts the horrors of a broken family from the point of view of the brother’s wife. With every chapter, you learn more ugly details about the characters involved—until the unhappy end.
Verdict: must read