You will not be afraid of the cars loving them It was the first novel by Marta Villar, journalist for “La Opinión”, the same publishing group as FARO, which this morning, May 9, publishes Sultan’s maximal requests, also from Xerais. Enter a children’s universe to show off friendship, support, encouragement and eschatological things because, above all, say, you have to laugh.
–How do you go from writing an adult novel to a children’s novel?
–The codes are totally different, the language is totally different, but it is something they always want to do. They are very aware of the moment when you stop being a child and become an adult. The experts say that when it’s a girl or a boy, you have more temporary connections. Or maybe he’s an adult. That’s why children have such overwhelming imagination and relate things that seem impossible to relate. As they grow, they lose those connections. Call it neuronal pruning. When I was a girl, I had my imagination and won literature awards. He was perfectly aware of the moment he lost. You have to study, make an effort, see what you are going to do in the future, win cards, survive…
–And the creativity remains at the edge of all iso.
–Yes, you have to put it aside, like a fantasy, unless you dedicate yourself to that, which is not easy. I was thirteen years old when he told me, he said. Deume extremely sorry. I loved that childish part that we should not lose. Remembering childhood always gives a little satisfaction. I also like writing adult stories, but it’s nice to recover that childhood stage when everything was possible.
–How did you come up with the idea of the book?
–Wrote at the beginning of last year. It is a story based on real life, the walks that my family takes. Sultan, a Leonese mastiff, is the dog that guards the house in Malpica. A huge animal, with a gigantic head, that is scary, but for the family it is a teddy bear. He has an obsession with cyclists. It seemed very nice to me to give him a volta. In everything that is dramatic for an adult, there is a comic version. That’s how I thought about the idea.
Cover of “Os maxicos requests of Sultan”
–Do you have anything from you?
–Sil is a person who does not have a defined gender. It’s complicated to write like that, but I didn’t want it to have gender. It doesn’t matter. When it’s a boy or a girl, it doesn’t matter what to enjoy, to live or to get ahead in life. There is a person called Sil, who may be about 8 years old, and who has a problem about her, Sultan, too. The story has a didactic part, which is often used in children’s literature, which is that the protagonists help each other to solve their problems. I wanted that message to be a message, that those who are encouraged can help other people and that people can help those who are encouraged. I don’t distinguish between one and the other. It’s a friendship message. Furthermore, Sil is looking for help. This is important because when it is small, you have a problem, you know. You have to find someone you trust to tell them about your problems and not internalize them.
–There is also a fun part
–Yes, because it has to be childhood. Poop, cu, fart, pee. The book has a very scatological part, which is fun for children. But it is based on feitos realis because or meu can throw moitos peidos. You have to laugh.
–Some maximal requests that, say no book, would be the case for some current politicians to be arrested?
–Yes, those requests from Sultan would solve very serious problems. You have to suffer, because they have a very powerful smell, but they have powers.
–Will there be more Sil e Sultan stories?
–The book ends and leaves you open for more adventures because it ends with an investigation. I had an idea in my head, but I didn’t have time to write.
