Leave the dead alone
Leave the dead alone is a mystery novel for young people written by the Spanish philologist, playwright, poet, professor and author JR Barat. The work was first published in 2013 by the publishing house Bruño. Since then, it has received several reissues, including one by Carena, one by Molino and a more recent one marketed in 2021 by the original literary house.
Since its launch, Leave the dead alone It has received mostly positive reviews, with an average of 3.40 and 4.6 on platforms such as Goodreads and Amazon., respectively. In addition, this small book by JR Barat is currently recommended during the first year of high school in ESO, so it has become a study material that children can enjoy.
Synopsis of Leave the dead alone
A supernatural adventure
Everything starts when Daniel Villena, A sixteen-year-old student goes on a trip with his family to spend the holidays in a small town by the sea. Shortly after his arrival, the protagonist comes into contact with a stranger boy whom he sees appear and disappear before him. Later, Daniel begins to notice that the stranger has the ability to enter his dreams.
As the weeks go by, these dreams become more and more creepy, to the point of turning into nightmares. One day, the main character receives a letter containing thirteen threatening words: "Leave the dead alone or you will soon be one of them." From that moment on, Daniel has no choice but to assume a detective stance and begin to investigate.
A story about corpses
When Daniel undertakes this search for the truth, He realises that it will not be easy to find the right answer to his doubts and growing fears, because the town where he has ended up is full of stories of corpses, unexplained events and enigmatic characters who, apparently, want to keep hidden what he yearns to bring to light.
Despite this, as the story progresses, Daniel joins characters who end up being part of his adventure in one way or another.. And deep down, many of the townspeople want to help the protagonist and discover what has happened for so many years to all those people who, apparently, have been covered by the sand of the sea, or have been swallowed by the ocean.
Narrative style of the work
There is not the slightest doubt that JR Barat is one of the great writers of his generation, since she has had the ability to approach a mystery novel for young people without leaving aside the good lyrics. It is not that the book is spun in a lyrical way, far from it, but her agile, direct and emotional style is always welcome when introducing children to reading.
It is precisely the mystery that might first attract any pre-teen. But, in most cases, readers stay because they have been able to connect with the characters that have been presented to them. Also, The author proposes almost magical scenarios, where everyone knows everyone and probably each keeps a secret from all their neighbors.
Setting and themes of the work
- R. Barat sets the novel during the summer holidays, which means that the protagonist is going to spend about three months in a small town where all the inhabitants are considered to be close to each other. However, Sooner or later Daniel discovers that each neighbor is hiding a truth. In this sense, the first visible theme is the search for answers.
Likewise —and as in any good youth novel worth its salt—, Friendship and personal growth are two great pillars of Leave the dead alone. It is through the eyes of characters such as Alicia, Teresa, Gaspar and Esteban that Daniel gets to know not only the town that welcomes him, but also places such as La Cueva del Moro, Playa del Sapo and the Casa de los Muertos.
Awards received by Leave the dead alone
JR Barat's novel has been awarded the Hache Prize (2014), awarded by young readers of Cartagena. Thanks to this success and the massive reception it has received, the author decided to write a sequel., which can be read in the title Grave 142, published in the same collection by the publisher Bruño, which sums up a great scope for good quality youth literature.
About the Author
Juan Ramón Barat Dolz was born on August 7, 1959, in the Valencian Community of Spain. He graduated in Classical Philology from the university of his hometown., as well as in Hispanic Philology from the University of La Laguna (Tenerife). The author also teaches Spanish Language and Literature. Throughout his career he has cultivated various literary genres for the general public.
Both children and adults have been able to enjoy his art. On the other hand, the most outstanding characteristics of Barat's work and all the genres he writes are stylistic clarity and structural classicism. These elements have been used by Juan in order to create a personal literary universe and insert it into the contemporary world, a skill for transcendence.
Other books by JR Barat
Adult literature
To
- The Wolf's Alibi (2020);
- Like all of you (2002);
- A short speech on unhappiness (2003);
- Primary stone (2004);
- The absurd hero (2005);
- Confessions of a Saurian (2005);
- Encrypted map (2007);
- Bad companies (2006);
- The blind compass (2010);
- If they ask for me (2021)
Prose
- 1707, the lost dream (2007);
- James I, the Templar King (2008);
- Delicious tales (2008);
- Neon Hell (2016);
- Checkmate to the Emperor (2021);
- The extraordinary story of James I the Conqueror (2023)
Drama
- Host and the other (2009)
Children's and youth literature
Drama
- Better a puppet in hand (2004);
- Little Pea and the Wishing Star (2004);
- Chulipáchuli (2006);
- One of Indians (2007);
- The Kingdom of a Thousand Birds (2013);
- Paper puppets (2017);
- One of Indians (2023)
To
- Poetry for sparrows (2005);
- Word of minstrel (2008);
- Kids only (2009);
- Poetry for sparrows (2015);
- Animalisms (2017);
- How to be cool (2019);
- Marzipan moon (2019);
- Bizarre stories (2020)
Prose
- Grave 142 (2014);
- Clear in the dark (2016);
- It's raining on my tombstone (2017);
- The night of the gargoyles (2018);
- The Pearl of Sanzio (2019);
- Nowhere (2019);
- The seven-masted schooner (2020);
- I count on you to make the world a better place (2021);
- The Brotherhood of the Red Moon (2021);
- The Black Crypt (2021);
- The eye of Polyphemus (2022)