English
In more ways than one, you can say that the ever-controversial annual Planeta award is the event that officially kicks off literary season in Spain. Established fifty-eight years ago by the editor Juan Manuel Lara with the aim, in theory, of promoting Spanish writers, this prize has always garnered a certain amount of criticism because the winning works are published by the same editorial which runs the prize. Winners are almost certainly guaranteed best-seller status.
This has led to all sorts of intrigues and rumors of awards agreed to in advance that over time have served to discredit the award in for literary purists, but the fact is that all this ivory tower controversy has never damaged prize’s promotional impact. Winning books become a media phenomenon, and the prize ensures significantly higher sales in Spain. Combined with the generous cash prize of 601,000 euros, it is one of the most coveted prizes.
Still, controversy aside, there are years when the quality of the winner seems hardly debatable and that is the case with the edition number 59 just awarded to Barcelona writer Eduardo Mendoza. Another recent standout winner was The World by Juan Jose Millas in 2007, written in stunning Spanish. The following year the book won the highly prestigious National Award for Fiction.
The strangest thing about the Riña de Gatos. Madrid 1936, the winning novel, which revolves around the origin of the Spanish Civil War, is that it is set, as its title suggests, the capital of Spain. Strange, mainly because Eduardo Mendoza is known, among other things, for his brilliant appearance on the Spanish literary scene with “The Truth about the Savolta Case” (1975, Critics Award 1976) as the great chronicler of Barcelona. The city is the star of a number of his most important books and particularly the memorable The City of Marvels (1986, Premio Ciudad de Barcelona, 1987. Best Book of the Year, Magazine “Lire”. France, 1988), which quite possibly even today is his most celebrated text.
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Paul Oilzum
Mendoza has also written Barcelona Modernista in collaboration with his daughter Cristina, a fascinating look at the artistic moment experienced by the city in the period between 1888 and 1914 which also serves as excellent guidance to the most attractive urban enclaves and apartments in Barcelona.
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