The fascinating narrative architecture of Isaac Rosa in The Vanished Yesterday || Review [Eng/Esp]
As is my custom, I once again come to this corner of #hivebookclub to share with you the beautiful sensations that reading produces in me. By way of confession, I admit to you that I am not one of those readers who usually enjoys historical novels so much; sometimes I prefer to read history books but without adding fiction to them, because I fear distorting in some way the knowledge I might have.
However, after my previous confession, I admit that there is a historical novel that captivated me, making me fall tremendously in love with it.
In 2005, precisely 20 years ago now, an international jury awarded the Rรณmulo Gallegos novel prize to a novel by a Spanish author, and that very novel is the one I bring to you today as a suggestion and a discovery at the same time.
After the book was published, I obtained it, but several years had to pass before I embarked on the frenzied journey of reading it. It happens that due to that aversion, perhaps unfounded, regarding historical novels, I was afraid to face its pages, but how wrong I was!
Isaac Rosa, the author of this fascinating work, a true monument of narrative architecture, not only wrote a novel, he made a declaration of war on the conventions of narratology and on passive, comfortable readers. With The Vanished Yesterday, he wrote a historical novel that is much more than history, turning its pages into a literary battle where conflicts are waged between memory and oblivion, and between the author and his audience.
My friends, I warn you that if you are looking for an easy read, this will not be a good choice, because even if I now tried to give you a synopsis of the novel, I would fail, since trying to summarize the plot is falling into the first trap the novel sets for the reader. Nevertheless, I give you useful coordinates: a university professor strives to investigate the figure of an anarchist student who was punished and tortured by the police in the midst of Franco's Spain in the 1960s; the entire novel follows these efforts, while crashing against the wall of institutional silence and collective forgetfulness.
But, believe me, in this novel the important thing is not what is told, but how it is told. Its author's greatest achievement is the narrative structure, which is also a giant challenge for the common reader. So we see how Isaac Rosa introduces two central characters who are part of the story, which are the Author and the Reader, and we witness a constant dialogue or dispute between them.
Yes, the novel speaks to us, its readers, it forces us to question our own expectations, while we see it riddled with drafts, discarded versions, and narrative dead ends. Imagine that the same scene is presented to us in multiple variants, and with this, Rosa shows us that history is not an objective fact, but a constructed story that is not free from interpretations, making us feel that we are betraying the truth of what happened.
Don't you think so far that we are in the presence of a fascinating and unique novel?
The title is not accidental because vanished means vain or useless, and yesterday refers to the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship; and precisely this novel is a fierce criticism of that policy of forgetting, arguing that a past not confronted, not spoken about, and not judged is a vain yesterday that is useless, that teaches no lessons.
Friends, this is a total novel, a work about historical memory, and a fundamental book for understanding this Spain in which Isaac Rosa lives, which still struggles to find a common narrative in the face of a traumatic past. It is certainly not a book for everyone, but it is for those who think of a book as an artifact of thought.
I know you will run to find it and devour it like I did, even though it is uncomfortable and challenging, but very necessary.
Until the next book!
๐
โจ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐! โจ
๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐ฐโ๐ ๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐
๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.
๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, 100% ๐๐๐๐๐-๐๐๐
๐ (๐๐ ๐จ๐ฐ).
๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐.
๐ณ๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐? ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐! ๐
VERSIรN EN ESPAรOL
La fascinante arquitectura narrativa de Isaac Rosa en El Vano Ayer || Reseรฑa
Como ya es mi costumbre, llego nuevamente a este rincรณn de #hivebookclub a compartirles las hermosas sensaciones que me produce la lectura. A modo de confesiรณn, admito frente a ustedes que no soy de las lectoras que suelen disfrutar tanto de la novela histรณrica; a veces prefiero leer los libros de historia pero sin agregarles ficciรณn, porque temo distorsionar de alguna forma los conocimientos que pueda tener.
No obstante, despuรฉs de mi anterior confesiรณn, admito que sรญ existe una novela de corte histรณrico que me atrapรณ, enamorรกndome tremendamente.
En 2005, precisamente ya hace 20 aรฑos, un jurado internacional otorgรณ a una novela de un autor espaรฑol el premio de novela Rรณmulo Gallegos, y justamente esa novela es la que hoy les traigo como sugerencia y a la vez descubrimiento.
Despuรฉs de publicado el libro, yo lo obtuve, pero tuvieron que pasar varios aรฑos para que yo emprendiera el viaje desenfrenado hacia su lectura. Sucede que por esa aversiรณn, quizรกs infundada, con respecto a las novelas histรณricas, temรญa enfrentarme a sus pรกginas, pero ยกquรฉ equivocada estaba!
Isaac Rosa, el autor de esta fascinante obra, todo un monumento de la arquitectura narrativa, no solo escribiรณ una novela, sino que hizo una declaraciรณn de guerra a las convenciones de la narratologรญa y a los lectores pasivos y cรณmodos. Con El vano ayer, escribiรณ una novela histรณrica que es mucho mรกs que historia, convirtiendo sus pรกginas en una batalla literaria donde se libran conflictos entre la memoria y el olvido, y entre el autor y su pรบblico.
Amigos mรญos, les advierto que si buscan una lectura fรกcil, esta no serรก una buena elecciรณn, porque incluso si ahora yo intentara hacerles una sinopsis de la novela, entonces fallarรญa, pues intentar resumir la trama es caer en la primera trampa que la novela tiende al lector. No obstante, les doy coordenadas รบtiles: un profesor universitario se esfuerza por investigar la figura de un estudiante anarquista que fue represaliado y torturado por la policรญa en medio de la Espaรฑa franquista de los aรฑos 60; toda la novela sigue esos esfuerzos, mientras se choca contra el muro de silencio institucional y la desmemoria colectiva.
Pero, crรฉanme, en esta novela lo importante no es lo que se cuenta, sino cรณmo se cuenta. El mayor logro de su autor es la estructura narrativa, que a la vez es un desafรญo gigante para el lector comรบn. Entonces vemos cรณmo Isaac Rosa introduce dos personajes centrales que forman parte de la historia, que son el Autor y el Lector, y presenciamos un constante diรกlogo o disputa entre ellos.
Sรญ, la novela nos habla a nosotros, sus lectores, nos fuerza a interrogarnos sobre nuestras propias expectativas, mientras la vemos plagada de borradores, versiones descartadas y callejones sin salida narrativos. Imaginen que una misma escena se nos presenta en mรบltiples variantes, y con esto Rosa nos demuestra que la historia no es un hecho objetivo, sino un relato construido que no estรก exento de interpretaciones, sintiendo entonces que estamos traicionando la verdad de lo sucedido.
ยฟNo les parece hasta ahora que estamos en presencia de una novela fascinante y รบnica?
El tรญtulo no es casual, porque "vano" significa inรบtil, y el "ayer" se refiere a la Guerra Civil y a la dictadura franquista; y precisamente esta novela es una feroz crรญtica a esa polรญtica del olvido, y se argumenta que un pasado no confrontado, no hablado ni juzgado es un vano ayer que no sirve para nada, que no enseรฑa lecciones.
Amigos, esta es una novela total, una obra sobre la memoria histรณrica y un libro fundamental para entender esta Espaรฑa en la que vive Isaac Rosa, que aรบn lucha por encontrar una narrativa comรบn ante un pasado traumรกtico. Cierto que no es un libro para todos, pero sรญ es para los que piensan en un libro como artefacto de pensamiento.
Sรฉ que correrรกn a buscarlo y a devorarlo como yo, aun siendo incรณmoda y desafiante, pero muy necesaria.
ยกHasta el prรณximo libro!
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โจ ยก๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐! โจ
๐บ๐ ๐รบ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐รณ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐
๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐รฑ๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐รณ ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐.
๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐รก๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐
๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐รญ๐, 100% ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ (๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐จ).
๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐รฑ๐๐
๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐.
ยฟ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐๐รณ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐รณ๐? ๐ฝ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐. ๐