Reuters, 20/04 13:49 CET
Barcelona, April 20 ( EFE ) .- A commemorative edition of the 40th anniversary of the first novel by Eduardo Mendoza, “The truth about the case Savolta “recovers the original title,” Soldiers of Catalonia “, changed the opinion of censorship.
The editor of Seix Barral, Elena Ramirez, explained today in the presentation they had wanted to make a commemorative edition and “explain how the views of censorship going one way and the reality on the other, and the anniversary of ‘Savolta’ offered this opportunity.”
The novel is set in Barcelona neutral First World War in which the Catalan industrial Savolta, which sells weapons to the Allies during the war, was killed in a context of violent labor disputes.
In this new edition, which keeps unchanged the text, have included reports of censorship of 1973 and 1975 as well as the kind words of Juan García Hortelano, Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Felix de Azua and Mendoza himself, who realize the importance of this novel.
The memory of the 40 years will be accompanied, announced Ramirez, a school edition Austral comments and update the novel to make it available to students.
Eduardo Mendoza commented that avatars of censorship, “now seen as anecdotes are important, because the censor knew what he was doing.” “The censor of 1973 says that the novel is misspelled and not understood, which I’m -ironiza- agreement, but ultimately suggests that you should only change the title.”
Remember the author Barcelona “It is true that today nobody knows’ Soldiers of Catalonia” is a popular song, but at the time the novel was written the song was well known. “
He explained that” soldiers “title referred to” a song that infantilized history, but then had an ironic sense, as referring to a land of Catalonia as traffickers, gangsters and bombs, a Catalonia which at that time was outside the official imaginary. “
In the 70s, added Mendoza, when he started writing the novel, “Catalonia’s image was that of an industrious people, a little stingy, very attached to their festivals and traditions,” and he wanted speak of a “very violent, very little legal, and hence the title” Catalonia.
Think the author of “The Mystery of the Haunted Crypt” that “the censor he thought the title was called separatism and therefore suggested change it so it does not become a slogan, though he cared little whether he thought the novel was going to die naturally soon hit the market death. “
As for the second Censorship report 1975 “the second censor already has another vision, he sees that times are changing, that Franco is in the past, so says the book is great, has a new style, which mixes genres , something that was new in the Spanish narrative then. “
Mendoza, who has always struggled to find the titles gives his novels, has confessed that when censorship will lay the first title, entered a Lock, which still lasts.
“cuffs and kisses” or “Shooting and kisses” were some of the alternative titles that Mendoza himself or publisher shuffled before accepting “The truth about the case Savolta” .
Although he wrote in Barcelona, Mendoza knew the success of the novel almost after a year, when he returned from New York to Sant Jordi in 1976 and picked up the million dollar fortune he collected the novel in its Sales
A Mendoza will not tempt the current Catalonia for a portrait as that offered in “The Truth About Savolta case”. “When I wrote this I was 26 and now I have them, and I would too lazy to get involved again in this building. “
His intention was in 1975″ have a society, a community, a moment of an industrial society with a proletariat and a social struggles. “
The author was aware that his literary debut had written a historical novel, which then were welcomed as “The Saga of the Rius” novels Luis Romero, Rodoreda or foreign as “Sinuhe the Egyptian” or ” Ben-hur “.
Witnesses of the success of” The Truth About Savolta case “the fact that a few months after publication called him to New York film producer Andrés Vicente Gómez because I wanted to a film and was “impressed”
Having perspective, Mendoza is enormously grateful to that first novel. “It changed my life, but having much success also had the disadvantage that made me be more shy and fearful not to disappoint in the second novel. “
For that reason, he added, changed in the following book” starting with the novels of humor. “
euronews published from Reuters as, but not involved in the published articles.
Copyright 2015 EFE.
No comments:
Post a Comment