Translation Rights TQE / The Rind of Time

We welcome Luciano G. Egido once more into our catalogue, one of the most original and acclaimed voices of contemporary Spanish literature, and his extraordinary fifth novel, La piel del tiempo (The Rind of Time), an unforgettable fresco of moody characters, fantastic situations, war and love ad-

ventures, that cover eight centuries of the history of Salamanca

— and of Spain — according to the free will of its creator’s talent.

It is the 12th Century and a family slowly crosses the Castilian landscape on its way to Salamanca. The pilgrims come from very far and their intention is to contribute to the repopulation of the city, devastated by the long battles against the Arabs. After coming upon a leper, Martín, the young protagonist of an extravagant and uncertain family saga, has the opportunity of asking for three wishes, that, once realized as was expected, will be streaked with love and death, and will mark all of his descendants. Egido retakes with mastery and notable imagination the classic themes of fantastic literature and transcends the terror genre and the Gothic novel thanks to an expressive force that is rooted in the most contemporary narrative. His characters and his most fantastic, cruel, tender, and contradictory stories surpass caustically, mere individuality to turn into collective symbols of yesterday and today.

Luciano G. Egido was born in Salamanca in 1928. After a lifetime’s dedication to the University, literary journalism and the cinema, he published his first novel El cuarzo rojo de Salamanca (The Red Quartz of Salamanca) at the age of 63. With this first novel he won the Miguel Delibes Prize in 1993. With his second, El corazón inmóvil (The Immobile Heart), he obtained the Critics’ Award in 1995. The reader will agree that Egido’s beginnings as a novelist are enviable, and that it would be ridiculous to deny that he is one of the contemporary writers clearly destined for immanent and definitive preeminence.