I recommend the novels of Arturo Pérez-Reverte Gutiérrez of which I have so far read only a few – see posts passim*.
I am wondering if I should have stuck with him but I need to check how many have been translated. I know, I did Spanish at “O” level but I failed. I am not a linguist and have never read anything more difficult than Hergé in a foreign language. I started with the Bible in translation and don’t intend to change.
However, I am trying another contemporary Spanish novelist: Carlos Ruiz Zafón. He is best known for The Shadow of the Wind; it sold 15 million copies. Perversely and probably foolishly I am reading his next novel, The Angel’s Game, as it is a prequel to the more famous Shadow of the W. Now I will have to read them both and Angel’s is a daunting 440 pages. It is too early to say but the genre appeals to me. I have read a lot of fiction that is a pastiche of 19th century novels, like Quincunx and Golden Hill. As I am still uncertain, here is what the British press had to say.
* There is a useful Search box at the bottom left of the page.
I enjoyed both books very much but then I lap up all magical realism from Russia to S America via Catalonia and Bungay.
Ruiz’s description of 1920s Barcelona doesn’t make it sound very cozy. I suggest you wrap up warm and take Bertie and the book to Margravine Cemetery on a dank misty morning to get the whole experience.