Translation Rights TQE / Blood

Like many of her readers, we had impatiently waited for five years to read a new work by the author. Sangre is a triumphant return to the territory of fiction, and the author’s first incursion into the genre of the novel. A double surprise, because she does not only test the genre, but does it with the best tools: A fascinating story full of surprises from beginning to end, and an ironic and biting voice, furious and yet moving, that carries us off from the very first page.

If there are mothers who manage to make their daughter’s lives miserable, Marina’s seems to make a special effort due to her blind obedience of the religion Gehova’s Witnesses which combines seemingly ridiculous attitudes with strict rules that could even lead to the death of its initiates. Marina has known how to escape in time from such a trap, but no matter how decided she is to dedicate herself to theatre and to a dissipated life, her mother’s shadow seems to have marked her forever. An unexpected event leads her to a confrontation with the mother, with her incapacity to face real problems, with her obstinance to live an illusion, with her enervating submission and spirit of sacrifice: a possible blood transfusion sends Marina on a journey through time, where she and her mother struggle for their memories. Are mother and daughter really that different? Sometimes, as is the case here, only history can clear up the enigma that stigmatises the lineage: a determining character from Spanish history has played a trick on both of them...

Mercedes Abad was born in Barcelona in 1961. She is the author of three short-story collections, that have ensured her a place as an essential narrator within Spanish literature. In 1986 Ligeros libertinajes sabáticos (Slight Sabbatical Licentiousness) was awarded the VIII La Sonrisa Vertical Prize and was a big success among the critics and the public. The writer, very young at the time, knew how to arise gracefully from her triumph. It has been confirmed by Felicidades conyugales (Conjugal Happiness), Soplando al viento (Blowing to the Wind), and Sangre (Blood). She is a regular contributor to the Catalan edition of the newspaper El País, and is also the author of theatre scripts and a regular participator of radio shows and cinematic projects.