Dreaming of Spain

A spine injury forced me to take a semester off of grad school. But it also allowed me a rare luxury of reading for fun. Among the library of new books now spilling from our wall-to-wall bookcase was my first Davis Sedaris book Naked. I’ve bought books because their cover blurbs promised David Sedaris-likeness and I knew what that meant, but this was my first book by the original. It was a great book, somehow giving you combination of awe and pain with its plain messed up moments but also harkening with a true sense of life’s sad truths. I know everyone and their mom has read Me Talk Pretty One Day, so I may keep it on my to-read list. 

Then came the onslaught of Spanish translated texts. All of these amazed me how talented not only the original authors were, but how amazing and capable the translators are able to parlay their words into English. Beginning with The Shadows of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. This book spoke to me sitting on a dusted bookcase in my room, because it was definitely my purchase, and I hadn’t read it. A book about books, how can you go wrong. I was addicted to this book with wonderful characters and its amazing mysteries to keep straight.

 

After that book was finished I happened on a used book of Alicia Giménez-Bartlett Dog Day. Another mystery another Barcelona setting. I fell in love with the complicated who-done-it storyline. It was law and order on crack. I loved this book so much I ended up getting the other two in her series, Death Rights and Prime Time Suspect. These were such quick reads I was left wanting another one. Will have to wait for her other books to get translated.

Reveled Chilean writer, Roberto Belano’s Savage Detectives was next in line. I was emotionally attached to all the characters, no matter how repulsive some of them were. Although I was sometimes lost in the talk about the various poets Belano depicts in the novel, this book was a great read.

Now back to a full semester in grad school. But I am thankful for all these books- they helped keep my mind off the L4/L5 disk! I want a trip now to Barcelona.