The book merchant

Luis Zueco phrase

Luis Zueco phrase

The book merchant is a historical thriller by the Spanish writer Luis Zueco. The work was published in 2020 and so far has 12 editions and has been translated into Portuguese and Polish. After the success of its launch, in 2021 it unanimously won the XXII City of Cartagena Award for Historical Novel.

The text presents the extraordinary journey of Thomas Babel, a young German who was forced to leave everything to plunge into a Europe shaken by two colossal events: the discovery of the American continent and the creation of the printing press. The journey is full of history, suspense and intrigue, with hints of love and humor, a mixture that, although it has been conventionally used in the contemporary literary field, is very well spun by the author.

Summary of The book merchant

First love

Thomas resided in Augsburg -your natal city- with his father, Marcus Babel, who had been in charge of his care since he was six years old, since his mother passed away. For a long time, the head of the family has served as cook in the residence of a wealthy banker, Jacobo Fugger.

During an important celebration at the Fugger home, Marcus was tasked with preparing a large banquet for the guests. As the meeting began, Thomas He prepared to share with the rest of the young people, and, after a few moments, He ran into a beautiful young lady who immediately stole his heart: Úrsula.

Run away and leave everything behind

Once the dinner was over, an unexpected event radically changed the prevailing peace and camaraderie: a distinguished citizen fell poisoned. Immediately, and without any proof, everyone accused Marcus of what happened. As a result of the tragic death and the unjust incrimination, Thomas had to leave the city immediately to save his life.

Without hesitation, Úrsula offered the young man help. That was how they planned to run away together, however, they were victims of a trap and they had to separate. As a consequence, Thomas had to continue his escape alone, leaving his father and his newfound first love behind.

travel and books

The young German began the journey through southern Italy accompanied by a merchant of books, wines and other items. His journey was always under the shadow of betrayal, so his life became a constant flight. After a long time, the path led him to Antwerp, where he got a job in a printing house.

When exercising this profession -relatively recent at that time- he learned all he could and an inordinate attachment to books, paper, and the smell of ink grew in him. The world of words captivated him so much that it led him to spend his time reading many texts.

your new home, in addition to opening the doors to a new universe of knowledge, allowed him to closely perceive all the momentous changes that were happening throughout of Europe.

The merchant and the mysterious commission

Medieval landscapes of Seville

Medieval landscapes of Seville

After a while, Thomas He had to continue his journey moved to northern Spain. There met Alonzoa book merchant for which he started working. One day, they both receive an assignment: locate a book. To find the whereabouts of the text, they had to go into Seville in the XNUMXth century, an overwhelming city and the cradle of the most important library in the West: La Colombina —created by the son of Christopher Columbus—.

Surprisingly, from the shelves of La Colombina They have stolen the book that Thomas and Alonso were looking for. The atmosphere of the place is full of mystery and intrigue: for some reason, someone does not want them to find it in text.

Basic data of the work

The book merchant it's a novel historical fiction set in Seville at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. The work has 608 pages, divided into 7 blocks with 80 chapters. The text is narrated by a omniscient narrator in a simple and pleasant way.

Some characters of interest

thomas babel

Is protagonist of history. A thoughtful, cultured, educated and dreamy young man. His life changes after a murder in which his father is involved, so he must escape from his hometown. On the run from him, he learns the arts of printing, is captivated, is involved in a series of mysteries and his life changes forever.

marcus babel

Is Thomas's father. A dedicated cook and self-sacrificing head of the family. He instructed his son from a very young age with the idea of ​​searching the new lands for the famous Island of Essences.

Ferdinand Columbus

Son of Christopher Columbus. He was bibliographical and cosmographical and he was fortunate to accompany his father on his fourth trip to America. He dedicated his time and money to amassing the largest collection of books of the time, thus creating La Colombina Library. He wrote the story of his father's discoveries, thus ensuring the immortality of the facts.

About the author, Luis Zueco

louis clog

louis clog

Luis Zueco Gimenez was born in Zaragoza in 1979. He grew up in the town of Borjas, where he played in the old castles, which made him an admirer of medieval constructions. One of his uncles —who was a defender of heritage— supported him in this hobby.

professional preparation

His first higher studies were carried out at the University of ZaragozaWhere graduated in Industrial Engineering. Thanks to the acquired knowledge he was able to restore and recover several ancient buildings and medieval castles. Then, obtained a bachelor's degree in History from the National University of Distance Education. Later, she did a Master's in Artistic and Historical Research at the same faculty.

Work experience

Currently, he works as Director of the Hotel Castillo de Grisel and the Castle – Palace of Bulbuente, both located in Tarazona de Aragón. The Aragonese is also a collaborator in various media, such as Aragón Radio, Cope, Radio Ebro and EsRadio. In addition, he edits as a guest editor at the Archeology, History and Travel magazine on the medieval world.

Literary race

He began his career as a writer with the novel Red Sunrise in Lepanto (2011) A year later, he introduced Step 33 (2012), an outstanding work that won the International Prizes for Historical novel City of Zaragoza 2012 and Best Historical Thriller 2012. In 2015, he published the castle, work that started the Middle Ages Trilogy, series that continued with The city (2016), and ended with The monastery (2018)

In 2020 he launched The Book Merchant. This title has enjoyed great acceptance both by the public and by literary critics. In total, the author has produced 8 novels and a book entitled Castles of Aragon: 133 routes (2011). His most recent publication was made in 2021: The Surgeon of Souls.

Work of Luis Zueco

Novels

  • Red Sunrise in Lepanto (2011)
  • Step 33 (2012)
  • Land without king (2013)
  • The Castle (2015)
  • The city (2016)
  • The monastery (2018)
  • the book merchant (2020)
  • The Surgeon of Souls (2021)

Books

  • Castles of Aragon: 133 routes (2011)

Be the first to comment

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

*

*

  1. Responsible for the data: Miguel Ángel Gatón
  2. Purpose of the data: Control SPAM, comment management.
  3. Legitimation: Your consent
  4. Communication of the data: The data will not be communicated to third parties except by legal obligation.
  5. Data storage: Database hosted by Occentus Networks (EU)
  6. Rights: At any time you can limit, recover and delete your information.