THE NOVEL El mismo fuego<\/p>\n\n\n\n
El mismo fuego (First International Independent Literary Prize from Orizzonte Atlantico for a novel published in 2019) is a novel and an existential autobiography based on the author\u2019s experiences during the last military dictatorship in his country. The actual facts, names, country, and subsequent developments of various tragedies have been altered to protect the truth. With a syntactical structure that lacks the relative pronoun \u00abthat\u00bb, the novel expresses in language the same functional absences that exist in the absolute memory of its protagonist, the child Jos\u00e9 Gabriel, without preventing him from representing a world that his exaggerated memory records in detail but his understanding cannot encompass in its entirety. \u00abOne morning, the children were playing in an old wagon when a gunshot rang out. Why are we born, if we have to die? The years go by, like the trees pass by the train window; and Jorge continues searching for the answer\u00bb (Eduardo Galeano).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TEXT OF MY INTERVIEW<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Good afternoon to everyone present<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First of all, many thanks to Carmen Manuel for inviting me to share this table with her, with the author who brings us together today, and with Vicent Cucarella, whom I just met.
When I started reading the book, I couldn\u2019t put it down, despite my many obligations. However, I have the immense privilege of sharing a table with the author, which allows me to know much more about it.
Since Carmen Manuel and Vicent Cucarella\u2019s presentation of him has been magnificent, all that\u2019s left for me is to ask questions, and I\u2019ll try to make the most of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First question: The firs impact was how much it reminded me of Gabriel Garc\u00eda M\u00e1rquez. His novel tells of an immense and intense family saga that shapes the political history of Latin America. Am I right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second question: Latin America literature continues to be the great developer of magical realism, even though it originated with the Italian Massimo Bontempelli. Do you feel there are aspects of this narrative movement in your novel?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Third question: Fear \u2013 Religion \u2013 Power. A tria I perceive in your novel. What do you think?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fourth question: I also notice a choral character in your novel, like Miguel de Cervante\u2019s Don Quijote. That is, a collection of stories that form a backbone, although it also has a lot of spherical universe. What do you think?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fifth question: the central importance of memory in your novel, in each and every one of the stories that unfold within it. Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sixth question: Do you consider the passage of time to be omnipresent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seventh question: Are there allusions to Latin American dictatorships? This could also apply to the most recent one we suffered. Is it through allegories, like the one we see on pages 43-45?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eighth question: Despite these intermittent flashbacks, there\u2019s also a centrality to the present through the enhancement of the senses. It made me think of a great culinary encyclopedia applied to the story of its characters. The feminine sense of smell sands out above all. And then there\u2019s sight, taste, and touch. Do you agree?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ninth question: There was also a space for characters who didn\u2019t want to take risks to avoid problems with the dictatorship, like the bookseller. These are completely real characters in any politically conflictive situation. Why did you want to give a role in the story, and why through a bookseller?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tenth question: Within Latin American dictatorships, you\u2019ve also given prominence to the United States of America. Because they strengthened those dictatorships for economic interests. Your novel even reveals that the so-called \u201cgreat president of democracy\u201d (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) did everything possible to prevent European Jews from landing in the country. They were suspected of radical leftism. However, the ruling classes put no obstacles in the waty of the entry of Nazis after the war. Why do you thin this aspect of the country you live in is so important?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eleventh question: Why does your protagonist have so many names? (Gabriel, Jos\u00e9 Gabriel, Josesito\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twelfth question: There\u2019s a very interesting combination in the wat the dialogues are handled. In some cases, they appear in italics. There\u2019s alternating between first and third person. Even, at times, second person. What other stylistic aspects could you highlight, and why did you use them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thirteenth question: It\u2019s very interesting how the use of multiple adjectives before the noun is very rare. Even more so than English usually does. Why is this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fourteenth question: I found the use of a very neutral standard register of Spanish curious. It\u2019s impossible to distinguish which part of Latin America you\u2019re referring to. Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fifteenth question: Madness in the novel. Way out? Repression?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sixteenth question: There\u2019s a melancholic, allegorical tone at the end when Daniela the daughter looks exactly like Daniela the mother. What was she aiming for?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seventeenth question: The title of the novel \u2014El mismo fuego\u2014 has an adjective \u2014fire\u2014 applicable to the hair color of Daniela mother and Daniela daughter. Did you this consciuously?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RECORDING OF THE EVENT https:\/\/youtu.be\/zBnbm2Nj1AQ?si=205u4t3jaPeM-iSa<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pepaubeda.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/6e6d0475-693a-4e51-af24-30d26ec52674-2-960x1280.jpg\")
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