Translation Rights TQE / California

Charly is a Spanish young man of twenty-five who, according to some, bears a resemblance to Johnny Weismuller, and who is spending the summer of 1974 in California. He is anxious to enjoy the splendor and glamour of California, and so he spends his time around celebrities such as the admired singer Ynka Pumer, he takes advantage of an agent’s devotion to actors such as Armando Hern in order to get some economic profit for his charms, he participates in porno movies and assists wild and exuberant parties. He has such a great time, that he has no interest in trying to change the world, he has no heart…

Years later, Charly has become Carlos, and he holds an important position in a big company, a filial to an American multinational. He also maintains a stable relationship with Alex, an ambitious young broker. As he himself says, «everyone has a right to change, even for the better». Now he is a compromised man who values progress and solidarity, and who decides to risk it all to act out against an injustice that is about to take place against one of the employees of his company.

As the author says: «This is a novel about California, in the sense that California is, above all, a state of being. It is also about the mirage of youth and the compromise that comes with maturity. I think that it is basically a novel about the will to overcome the ruins caused by time.»

Eduardo Mendicutti was born in Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz) in 1948.  In 1972 he moved to Madrid where he obtained a degree in Journalism and where he has lived ever since. He has won prizes such as the Café de Gijón and Sésamo.  He has published over ten works, all of them enthusiastically received by critics and public alike, and which have been translated into different languages.  Two of his novels, El palomo cojo and Los novios búlgaros, have been brought to the big screen, the first directed by Jaime de Armiñán and the second by Eloy de la Iglesia. His novel El ángel descuidado won the Critics’ Prize in Andalucía in 2002.