Spanish Books on The BookTrail
Spanish Books on The BookTrail
I have started to read a lot more Spanish books recently as they have some excellent writers there! Sadly many are not translated and I find such gems when in Spain’s bookshops. I hunt them everywhere. On a recent visit to Austria, I even found one there and promptly bought it.
Spanish books on the Trolley of Temptation (c) The BookTrail
I love the style of Spanish books and when I read an another translated, I reread the same story in a very different way. I know the story but I get a whole other sense of language and language rhythm which is lovely.
Reading Spanish books that haven’t been translated is also a lot of fun. I feel I am discovering books that not many English speakers will have done. And that feels special – like a book spy of sorts!
Some titles I really think need to be translated….but some are of course and I get them as I want to read in the original language…
The Bone Thief
Set in the Basque country, this features the Santiago de Compostela walks and uses landscape and region very well.
It’s about a girl who loses her memory in a savage attack. Carlos, the man she loves says he will help her reclaim her memories but then he disappears and she has no way of getting in touch with him. Lost and confused, she tries to track him down and then she gets a call saying that to see him alive again, she has to do something for the kidnappers…stealing the relics of the Apostle in the cathedral of Santiago.
The Silence of the White City
I have read this in English and loved it. Reading it in Spanish though was a whole other experience. It felt more raw and noir. The rhythm and sounds of Spanish really lent themselves well to the plot. It felt more urgent and dangerous in many ways. Set in the city of Vittoria, the language and regional nuances were highlighted in Spanish and I felt totally and utterly immersed. The English language version is one of the best translations I have read and really gets the Spanish one across.
The Third Lake
A mystery thriller about a disappearing lake…
The mystery of the third lake…
This is one heck of a mystery that really exists! There are two glacial lakes which make up the Covadonga lakes where the novel is set: Enol and Ercina. When the thaw occurs, a third lake appears, Bricial, which only has water at that time of year. It appears and then disappears again.
This mystery has been tied to many stories of mysteries and ghosts that continue to haunt and fascinate people.
The novel takes place in Asturias and the region around it. Most of the plot unfolds in Cangas de Onís and Villaviciosa so these are definitely the towns to explore and feel as if you are in the action as the book unfolds.
My favourite book of all time – so much so I have several versions of it – in both Spanish, English and Swedish:
The Cemetery of Forgotten books
Honestly, if you read Spanish I totally recommend the above titles. For the ones translated, I also heartily recommend them too. Such great talent in Spain and I can’t read fast enough!
Susan x
