Translation Rights TQE / Mae West and I

Felipe Bonasera, a discreet diplomat and amateur ventriloquist, is diagnosed a serious illness that leads him to retire and move to the coast to rest. He leaves behind in Madrid the talking puppets of Mae West, Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich, with which he entertains his friends in private parties, although the voice of Mae West does not abandon him and he will maintain hilarious dialogues with her. While everyone else is completely involved in the games of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the exdiplomat becomes interested in Pilar Meneses, his neighbor whose husband has disappeared under confusing circumstances, and in Borja, her handsome and elusive son. With the two of them, he will live a story whose atmosphere is reminiscent of the golden years of Hollywood. Alluding to this glamourous time period, the novel is a showcase for unforgettable characters such as Carmeli, the lively cleaning lady; or the beautiful people of the housing development, led by Leoncio and André (who will soon receive the nicknames of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas); or a local newspaper reporter whose articles will deconsruct, piece by piece, the case of the disappearance of Pilar Meneses’ husband.

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 the Sésamo. He has published over ten books that have been translated into several language and enthusiastically acclaimed by critics and readers alike. Two of his novels, El palomo cojo (The Limping Pigeon) and Los novios búlgaros (The Bulgarian Boyfriends), 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 (The Careless Angel) won the Critics Prize in Andalucía in 2002.

Praise for his previous novel, Ganas de hablar:

“Eduardo Mendicutti is one of the most serious writers in contemporary Spanish narrative. Through the use of humor, of unsolemn subjects, of frivolity and matters of the heart, his words always add salt to the open wound.” Luis García Montero

“His novels are always at their best when they are comical and humorous. He offers us fun stories that stem from the lucid observation of society and that ridiculize deeply rooted conventions.”El Mundo

“Yes, Ganas de hablar tells hilarious and sad stories, both. Mendicutti has made use of dark and side-splitting humor to combat silence.” El País

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.