The buzzing life of bars, warm evenings by the Manzanares river, the
subterranean terrors of the Metro, icy winters and hot, empty summers,
student days in the sixties, the ruthless underworld of the city's
mafia - this captivating anthology reflects the character of Madrid and
the lives of the madrilenos, as its inhabitants are called, in all
their splendid variety. Some stories are bizarre, some funny, some
serious, and as you read you'll travel through the city. The famous
streets and monuments of Madrid - Cibeles, Calle de Alcala, Plaza Mayor,
and the Royal Palace - as well as the poor, working-class barrios
unfrequented by sightseers will pass before your eyes like a moving
picture. Some stories, like the Galdos story and Carmen Martin Gaite's
'A clear conscience' depict a journey across Madrid, while in Javier
Marias' sinister tale, 'Fallen from fortune', a couple are unaware that
their guide to all the usual tourist highlights is leading them to their
death. In 'Through
the wall' and 'Personality disorders', the characters barely leave their
apartments, and the city lurks outside the windows. A rich assortment of
characters - adolescent boys obsessed with sex; maids up from the
country; provincial girls who slide into prostitution; a small boy
excited at the prospect of going downtown with his grandfather; vain,
self-absorbed thirty-somethings with too much money; immigrant families
far from home; mafia types; diligent office-workers struggling to bring
up a family - come alive in the tales.
Few of these stories have previously been translated into English. Some
names, such as Benito Perez Galdos, Javier Marias, Juan Jose Millas, and
Carmen Martin Gaite, will be more familiar than others but all deserve
to be better known.
There is a map at the back of the book to indicate the places mentioned
in the stories and photographs complement and accompany each story. The
reader will also find there biographical notes on the authors and
suggestions for further reading.
