(From Guadalajara) There was a time not too distant that Javier Cercas was a celebrated Spanish writer synonymous with historical autofiction, sophisticated literary operations, great intellectual demands but considerably smaller readership than mega bestsellers: with the exception of his debut novel, Soldiers of Salamina, an unexpected success in Spain at the turn of the century and already a classic, praised by both Mario Vargas Llosa and then-President Rodríguez Zapatero, none of his acclaimed books reached the general public.
But fortunes can change in a second. This is what happened last month to the author of The Impostor and Anatomy of an Instant, when it was revealed that thanks to his most recent novel, a policeman as traditional as sui generis, he had been awarded the Planet 2019 prize, the largest literary booty in the world (600 thousand euros), surpassed only by the Nobel Prize (although with the same amount of controversy under his belt as the Swedish prize)
It is logical then that Cercas is one of the main attractions of the Guadalajara International Book Fair this year, and that Terra Alta, his award-winning novel, commands the giant stand of his publishing house, relegating George R. R. Martín and even the latest Mexican sensation, The Seller of Silence, by Enrique Serna.
The novel by Cercas is a thriller that takes place in a very current setting, during the independence process of Catalonia, of which Cercas was and is very critical. The protagonist of the novel is Melchor Marín, a convicted ex-felon, hero in the 2017 terrorist attacks and current mosso d'esquadra (police) in Gandesa (Tarragona). Your task is to solve a triple murder of powerful people.
In dialogue with Infobae, this Catalan adopted, an absolute admirer of Borges, reveals the reason behind his sudden literary change, explains why policemen are the most malleable genre, and why, even after winning the succulent Planeta prize, he is not as rich as people can imagine.
— What comes first, the plot of Terra Alta and its characters, or the desire to change and do something different?
“No, the desire to change, obviously. And I felt that what I had been doing, let's call it autofiction, novel without fiction, mix of genres, or whatever you want, had already given what I had to give. Besides, a lot of people started doing that and I didn't want to repeat myself. I remember that in Paris, at the School of Higher Studies, a boy told me “you used to do something that nobody did and now everyone does it”. And I said, “You're right, but it's not my fault” (laughs).
“Did it seem to you that he had gone too far, or that he had really gone too deep, with The Monarch of Shadows, a work as intricate as it was personal?
“That was the first book I wanted to write, and the most important for me because it had to do with something familiar. Then, after I did, I knew I needed to change. The fear of bordering on mannerism was also a warning sign, to tell you the truth.
“But being a well-known writer, the temptation not to walk away from what made him famous I suppose would be a lot.
“Well, I could have continued writing the same book without any problem, we all know that there are many writers who do it, it is the most normal thing, especially when you are 57 years old as I am. You say you're experimental and that's it (laughs). But you can fool others but you can't. And a writer who deceives himself is finished
“And since you decide to do that swing until you sit down and write, how much time does it take?
“Enough, about a year and a half. Because I couldn't think of the story. But suddenly the protagonist, Melchor, appears to me, and especially a phrase, which is the first of the second chapter, where I listen to a different music, and that gives me the fuel I needed. And well, the crisis in Catalonia, of course, that changed me completely.
— Do you see your indignation at the independence process reflected in the novel? There are no direct allusions.
“Of course not, but where does all that anger of the protagonist come from? Where did this vigilante desire come from? That hatred you have? In novels we say things that in normal life you wouldn't dare to say. Fiction has made me freer, as well as having to abide by some conventions of the genre. I say some because I'm not sure it's 100% a crime novel. After all, all my novels were police in some way.
— Is posing an enigma essential for the development of a novel?
“In fact, it is essential that a novel formulates a complex question, and in the most complex way possible. Why such a thing? Who about another one? In the case of Terra Alta, the question is very clear because there is a crime: the question is who killed these people.
—However, the novel develops a twofold enigma: who is the murderer, or who killed those people, as they say, but in parallel, who is the protagonist? What happened to it, why is it what is it like?
“Exactly, and it is that all the books that matter to me work that way. There is a superficial enigma, for example, is Don Quixote crazy or not crazy? Why is Ahab obsessed with the white whale? What are you accusing Joseph K of? And that superficial enigma always hides deeper enigmas.
—The main enigma is the protagonist, not the identity of the murderer.
“Yes, Melchior is the engine of everything. He thinks that all the books I've written, from Soldiers of Salamis to The Monarch of Shadows, have all been in the first person, and from a first person very close to me. And here is a third person very distant. When he gets into my head, what I did was find out his story. Then I added up the whole part of the crime.
— And what is your relationship with the police genre? Do you like the noir novel, Agatha Christie's riddle, the Nordic ibnoir...?
“I have always had an interest in the genre, of course. And I devoured Christie when I was young. I read all the classics, I studied them, I even wrote my thesis on the first Spanish that makes a peculiar use of the genre, which is Gonzalo Suárez, and for that I had to read Chandler, Hammet, etc. I love Don Winslow, James Ellroy too, Benjamin Black is better than John Banville in my opinion...
But the same thing about the genre is not important to me, there are good novels and bad novels, period. Borges has written stories that were not strictly police but were, such as “Death and the Compass”. Martin Amis's best novel is also one that looks like a policeman, Night Train. It's a very malleable genre. And as I said, I don't think there are major or minor genres, there are major or minor ways of using genres.
—Given the hegemony of series in cultural habits today, would you like Terra Alta to be adapted for television or streaming?
“In fact, audiovisual rights are already sold, so something will probably be, I don't know if a movie or a miniseries or what. But I'm a fan of the series, so that would be great.
- Which ones do you like?
“Well, Homeland, Breaking bad, The Wire. Of the recent ones, The Spy, that of Sacha Baron Cohen, I really liked it.
—His novel is more like HBO's ibThe Night of, starring John Turturro. A crime, a misaligned and heterodox lawyer, a social and humanistic portrait...
“I didn't see that one, I'll write it down. According to my son, it looks like Fargo: an inhospitable place where nothing happens and suddenly something happens.
“Anyway, you defined the novel not as a thriller but as a western.
“Of course, it is that all my novels, deep down, are westerns, they have that epic impetus, of adventure. This was explained very well by Borges, who said that in the twentieth century the novel ceased to be epic, and the epic took refuge in the western. And I've grown up watching westerns on television, and if I have to pick ten favorite movies, seven are by John Ford. In addition, the novel has a typical scenario of the genre: the protagonist is a lonely guy who comes from the city with a past in tow, a past of violence.
— And how was your readers' response to this change?
“Well, the response from the readers has been phenomenal, unbeatable. From the readers I already had and those who discovered me with this novel. But the response of the literary society... not so phenomenal I would say (laughs).
“And why do you think that happened?
“Well, I think that reluctance can be explained by two reasons: one, the immense popularity of the Planeta award. In Latin America it is not that massive, but in Spain it is, there are many people in my country who are only going to buy this book this year. The second reason for understanding skepticism is that it is a crime novel. And I add another: some think that by winning the prize you are already rich, something that generates antipathy, when the truth is that half of it is taken by the treasury.
“Okay, but it's more than 600 thousand euros in prize money, it's a considerable figure.
“Well, yes, of course, but as I tell you, half of it is taken by the Treasury. And any banker earns twice as much in a year. That's why when they ask me what I'm going to do with the money, I say “buy shoes and shirts, and live modestly.” It's like García Márquez once told me: “We writers are poor with money.” Although I don't know why he actually said that, he had a lot of money (laughs).
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