Quote by Luis Landero
In 1989, the Tusquets publishing house published Late age games, the first novel by —unknown to Spanish readers until then— professor Luis Landero. Said release was worthy of the Icarus Award for new writers, the Castilian Critics Award and the National Narrative Award, among others.
After such a literary debut, the Iberian author has lived up to the expectations generated by each new book. Not in vain, his style has been highly praised for the care of the language and a composition with “Cervantine roots”. To date, Landero has published eleven novels, two autobiographies, an essay and two compilation texts of press and television articles.
Synopsis of the most outstanding novels of Luis Landero
Late age games (1989)
The protagonist is Gregory Olias, a man in the middle of a mid-life crisis who sees himself as a boring failure. For this reason, he decides to build an oneiric universe together with his friend Gil, another mature and disillusioned individual. This is how Faraoni was born, an imaginary engineer with a talent for poetry, the prototype of courage, an example of success... the antithesis of his creators.
Certainly, the narrative features mentioned in the previous paragraph frame the story within the subgenre of magical realism. Similarly, the development runs between Gregorio's grandiloquent daydreams and the effects of Faraoni's actions In the real world. But, sooner or later Olías will not be able to avoid the confrontation with his frustrations. Will you be able to overcome them?
Knights of fortune (1994)
Five people with very different existential contexts end up meeting and intertwining their destinies in a tragicomic plot.. All of them have a common desire to complete great projects, but feel unhappy for not achieving their goals. By the way, the scene of the events is a town very similar to Albuquerque, the town where Landero was born.
Characters
- Esteban: Is a chaste being who changes his perspective when he knows all the power derived from moneyTherefore, he decides to become a millionaire at all costs.
- Luciano: Is a devout religious practitioner whose existence is shaken after discovering love.
- Belmiro: Is a highly cultured old man who forgets all his precepts after an irrational outburst.
- Don Julio: Is a highly respected merchant with gifts (unsuspected by himself at first) for politics.
- Amalia: Is an indecisive lady between the fiery (and controversial) passion of a young man and the security offered by an older suitor.
guitarist (2002)
Landero's fourth novel shows —like most of his books— various autobiographical circumstances. Specifically, the memories of Emilio, the protagonist narrator, have parallels with anecdotes extrapolated from the youth of the author from Badajoz. Although the descriptions convey plausibility, in the narrative thread the fictitious memories are confused with the real ones.
In any case, the two types of evocations explain the valuable emotional and sentimental learning experienced by the narrator during his life as an artist. At that point, the needs of “earthly reality” pose a diatribe around two processes (apparently) mutually exclusive. Is it possible to mature while feeding dreams?
Today, Jupiter (2007)
The narration exposes the reality of two characters born with disparate luck. On one side is Dámaso, a young peasant full of rancor due to the restrictive and insensitive upbringing received from his father. Because the latter wanted to alleviate the failures of his youth through the realization of his son. The other protagonist is Tomás, a renowned teacher of Language and Literature with a nondescript existence.
Likewise, the professor suffers from the internal contradiction between his spirit of overcoming and his conformism. However, the appearance of a 16-year-old maiden completely transforms her existence. Eventually, the paths initially far from Dámaso and Tomás coincide in a Madrid neighborhood. That momentous encounter helps them understand the meaning of their lives.
Absolution (2012)
Linen he is a man invaded by a constant feeling of uncertainty for being unable to leave behind the misfortunes of his past. Apparently, the consequences of a tormented adolescence prevent him from believing his promising future. Even he is unable to free himself from his anxiety despite having a harmonious present in the middle of a beautiful spring afternoon.
At the beginning of the book, the protagonist is only four days away from marrying Clara, the daughter of Mr. Levin, the owner of the hotel where he worked. The day's itinerary marks an evening family meal to celebrate togetherness. However, before arriving at the appointment he is involved in a street brawl and all his past torments flood his thoughts.
Biography of Luis Landero
louis landero
Luis Landero Durán was born on May 25, 1948, into a peasant family from Alburquerque, Badajoz, Spain. He remained there throughout his childhood until in 1960 he emigrated with his parents to Madrid. As a teenager he began to regularly practice the flamenco guitar, he even became a professional musician and had a group with his cousin.
Career path
At the same time as the ropes, the young Luis cultivated a strong love of literature and held various jobs to be able to pay for his higher studies. In Madrid he graduated in Hispanic Philology at the Complutense University (later he became a professor there). In the Spanish capital, Landero also worked at the Calderón de la Barca institute and at the Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático.
Later in the 1980s, he became a professor of Spanish Language and Literature at Yale University. Finally, the recognition received after the resounding success of Late age games allowed him to devote himself entirely to writing. To date, the writer from Alburquerque has published 16 books including novels, autobiographies, compilation texts and essays.
Other books by Luis Landero
- The magical apprentice (1999). Novel
- Between the lines: the story or life (2000). Trial
- This is my land (2000). Compilation text of a television program
- How do I cut your hair, sir? (2004). Compilation of press articles
- Portrait of an immature man (2009). Novel
- Fine rain (2019). Novel
- The balcony in winter (2014). Autobiography
- Negotiable life (2017)
- Emerson's orchard (2021) Novel
- a ridiculous story (2022) Autobiographical novel.