Why close this saga?
I have always talked about this family as a planet and I lacked the last piece to round it. I was excited about the fact that seven years had passed since the last novel and everyone believed that history had remained in trilogy. But I knew no. So I wanted to surprise the readers and see their reaction to discover that, oysters, they are here again. But Amalia’s story closes here, although it opens in other spaces. I will not lose them. In fact, I will start writing the theatrical adaptation in June and we will also take this family to the comic.
How has the character of Amalia evolved?
Interestingly, I would say that it is the character that has least evolved, because we already knew her older. When you take such a mature character, his evolution is more subtle. She works as a meeting point: it is the pillar around which everything turns. And that has become someone we like to meet again, because we know what awaits us in it.
The novel addresses the theme of orphanhood and early duel.
Surprisingly, this has been the novel that has cost me least to write. He has been the friendliest. I was afraid because I play issues very close to my personal process, but I have realized something important: writing about a mother when she is no longer means that you no longer write for her, but with her. It is as if you had already incorporated it into your body. Before I wrote alone, but this time it has been different: I was writing in company. And that has done a more beautiful process.
Is there any scene that cost you to write?
The scene that occurs in the animal sanctuary was the most difficult. My mother was a big fan of that sanctuary, he always wanted to go, but I could never take her. First the pandemic arrived and, before that, the sanctuary was closed to the public because they were remodeling it. Then, she became ill and was already impossible. So writing that scene was like fulfilling her dream without her being present. It was difficult, but also a way to close that chapter.
“There is an ideological, not literary fear, to which we are going to find in a book”Alejandro Palomas
How do you get the simple emotional weight?
Extracting the magic of everyday life. We spend our lives looking for distant, special things that we don’t have. And that makes us lose sight of what we have close. When you decide to stop and look at what you have next, you discover impressive things. If you choose a small place with few people and decide to look at them well, suddenly that space multiplies. It becomes a universe itself. It is as if a space behind space suddenly appeared.
“A life” talks about loss and duel. In a world where we often avoid talking about death.
Non -fiction that directly addresses death is usually short. However, fiction is different. He gets us awake, it comes in another way, he tells us stories in which death is not always an ending, but also a beginning. Because, really, death is the beginning of many other things. Death itself is the great mystery of the world. We do not know what is behind, so it is not necessary to talk about it directly. But we can tell it in the same way that we tell children. I think the best way to face death is to tell us as if we were children. Tell our inner child.
How do you see the evolution of contemporary literature? Do you think you are losing emotion in favor of entertainment?
We cannot talk about “contemporary literature” as a whole. The editorial sector has already been in charge of comparting everything. More than talking about literature, we talk about types of books. We have entertainment literature, thought literature, non -fiction, essay … too many boxes. The difficult thing is to write a book that combines all those layers and is accepted by all. But the problem is that there are now many readers who only read a type of literature and are closed to the others. That complicates the coexistence within the current literary map.
How can we encourage literary diversity?
We should start by eliminating ages tags in books. We should not say “this is children’s literature” or “this is for children from 3 to 5 years.” These categorizations typecast readers from an early age. There are adults who enjoy children’s literature and I don’t understand why they have to go to the children’s section to find it. I think there is an ideological, not literary fear, to which we are going to find ourselves in a book.
What is the question you have never asked in an interview and that you would like to answer?
“Are you comfortable?” They have never asked me and I think it is fundamental. Sometimes I’m not at ease in an interview, but of course, nobody asks. I would like someone to do it, because it is a conversation between two people and the environment greatly influences the answer.
What message do you expect readers to take after reading a life?
What I hope is what I think is already happening: that they leave this story with an immense smile and with a desire to live tremendous. Although the transit of the novel is sometimes complicated, the energy with which you end is to want to leave, breathe deep and say: “Wow, what do I want to take a walk.”
