Manuel Vicent publishes ‘A particular story’

That a young man from the Vilavella has become one of the most illustrious and beloved writers on the Spanish literary scene of recent decades, it is no longer a surprise if the young man one is referring to is Manuel Vincent.

The author from Castellón, one of the most renowned columnists in the country, and a first-rate novelist that always keeps in mind the land that saw him is born both in his work and in his way of living, returns this coming May 16 to bookstores throughout the country with his new book, A particular story (Alfaguara).

One more time, Vicent uses memory, memories, to construct a story that in turn serves as a chronicle of the recent history of Spain. Thus, through a child who for the first time gets on one of the cardboard horses of a merry-go-round – without imagining that this way of galloping, up and down, always one more turn, foreshadows everything that is going to happen later. over the years—the writer from Vilavella narrows the already thin line between fiction and autobiography to address in an evocative, and very literary, way, passages that have marked the future of contemporary society.

Journey to the past

Throughout this novel, which appears two years after his previous work, Portrait of a modern woman (Alfaguara), in which he focused his gaze on one of the most relevant figures of national culture of the last century, such as Concha Piquer, Manuel Vicent once again “rescues” the music and the songs, the readings, from when he was a child and teenager, all of this linked to the sea, that Mediterranean Sea that has never abandoned despite living in Madrid, to daydreams, friends, loves and wounds. In short, all those moments of beauty that make up a life.

Far from presenting a memorial narrative, or one that only seeks to document and analyze a specific period in history, Vilavella manages like few others to intertwine historical events with their own memories., whether happy or agitated, to create something new, a purely literary story in which he shares an image with the reader, with whom he always seeks that complicity necessary for reading to fulfill the purpose required of it: to entertain. Nevertheless, With each new book, Manuel Vicent not only entertains his thousands of faithful and devoted readers, but also creates a framework where memory and the word are the key, fundamental element., to continue delving into his own being. In other words, the writer seeks to explain himself through each of his books.

Awarded in 2022 with one of the High Distinctions awarded by the Valencian generalitat every October 9Manuel Vicent already confessed to Mediterranean that he has «the province of Castellón within my work. “I was going to say from my heart, but that might sound too cheesy.” And he added: “If I have to talk about my way of working, I can tell you that I think in Valencian, I think in Castellón.” In this sense, it could be said that he is one of the greatest ambassadors of these regions. Not in vain, books like green eyed lion (Alfaguara, 2008), have served as an extraordinary showcase to publicize a unique enclave with a lot of history behind it such as the Hotel Voramar in Benicàssim.

Vicent searches his mind, his memories, to build intense and evocative novels of unforgettable characters.like the one that readers will soon be able to discover through A particular story, a work in which Manuel Vicent himself writes: “Life, like the violin, only has four strings: you are born, you grow, you reproduce and you die.” Thus, with these wickers, the author continues saying, “each personal story is woven with a whole tangle of dreams and passions that time half macerates with chance.”

Happiness and rebellion, dreams fulfilled and inexorable defeats also have a place in the latest publication by the author of Vilavella, who in just two years will turn 90, becoming one of the most prolific authors in Spanish literature.

Relevant titles

Till the date, the vilavellero Manuel Vincent has published in Alfaguaraone of the most important labels in the country, novels like Tram to Malvarrosa (1994 and 2014), Garden of Villa Valeria (1996)—both collected together with Against Paradise in the volume Other days, other games (2002)—, Easter and oranges (1993), They are from sea (with which he won the Alfaguara Award in 1999), Matisse’s girlfriend (2000), Successive bodies (2003), You will see the open sky (2005), green eyed lion (2008), Aguirre, the magnificent (2011), The chance of the blonde woman (2013), deer parade (2015), The regatta (2017), Ava in the night (2020) and Portrait of a modern woman (2022). He is also the author of the anthology The best stories (1997) and from the collections of articles Nobody dies the day before (2004), The pagan hours (1998), Travels, fables and other journeys (2006), aces poker (2009), mythologies (2012), The last of the mohicans (2016), Anti-bullfighting (2017), with illustrations by The brokenand Readings with daiquiri (2019).