Luz Gabas.
The heartbeat of the earth It is the fourth published novel by the Spanish writer, philologist and politician, Luz Gabás. Unlike its previous releases, this title is not a historical novel, it actually has a plot of mystery and suspense. Well, the narrative thread focuses on the investigation of a crime while recalling some key events in the past of the characters.
The action takes place in a family mansion far from any urban center. There, Alira, the protagonist, deals with enormous difficulties to maintain the property of which she is heir. To make matters worse, the body of one of his guests appears in the cellar and suspicions are the order of the day.
About the author
María Luz Gabás Ariño (1968) was born in Monzón (Huesca), Spain. She received her degree as an English philologist at the University of Zaragoza. In that house of studies he was a tenured teacher. Despite her teaching obligations, the intellectual from Huesca has also worked as a researcher, translator and author of articles on literature and linguistics.
Likewise, Gabás has to his credit a good number of participations in projects related to culture, theater and audiovisual productions (cinema, mainly). Additionally, she was mayor of Benasque between 2011 and 2015. To date, the Spanish writer has published four very successful novels in terms of editorial numbers and specialized criticism received.
The novels of Luz Gabás
The launch of his first novel, Palm trees in the snow (2012), represented an entrance to the literary world in style. Not surprisingly, there are translations into Italian, Catalan, Dutch, Polish and Portuguese. In addition, this title was taken to the cinema (2015) under the direction of Fernando González Molina and won two Goya awards (best actor, Mario Casas and best art direction).
Love in different times
In his debut work, Gabás drew on his own father's experiences in Equatorial Guinea to address different questions about Spain's most recent colonial past. Later, set his second novel -Back to your skin (2014) - in the Aragonese Pyrenees of the XNUMXth centuryI. It is a very romantic story in the midst of an era of relentless persecution of witches.
Obviously, Gabás' characters are moved by the feeling that originates the deepest motivations. And yes, this is none other than love. This aspect is equally palpable in Like fire on ice (2017), whose history takes place in the mid-XNUMXth century, in the mountains that make up the border between France and Spain. Finally, in The heartbeat of the earth events take place in contemporary times.
Analysis of The heartbeat of the earth
The heartbeat of the earth.
You can buy the book here: The heartbeat of the earth
Context
Between the 1960s and 1980s, Spain underwent a major transformation within its rural settlements. Specifically, during that period, many expropriations occurred in towns such as Fraguas (Guadalajara), Jánovas (Huesca) or Riaño (León), among others. As a result, more than a thousand family histories are gone forever, condemned to oblivion.
Therefore, nostalgia and attachment to the land are very palpable feelings throughout the text, although with a positive message. In other words, despite being a people's story, the writer from Huesca always gave a crucial relevance to the place. For this reason, A town was invented —Aquilare— where many of the situations experienced in the towns mentioned in the previous paragraph are evoked.
Argument
Alira is the heir to a farm that has belonged to her family for several generations. But the environment where he lives is depopulating day by day; a situation of abandonment aggravated by the reforestation policy. In the same way, the harsh economic reality causes property maintenance expenses that are increasingly difficult to solve.
For this reason, the protagonist must decide whether to hold a position inseparable from her origins or change her lifestyle to adapt to modernity. This tirade generates a clear confrontation between individual and society, as well as a lot of doubts in Alira. So when a body of a murdered person appears in the cellar of his house, the situation becomes quite tense.
Literary genre and themes
Luz Gabás has always known how to renew herself in each of the releases after Palm trees in the snow. Of course, the success of her first book was a boost and notoriety that she knew how to take advantage of. Not to mention the lauded film resulting from history. However, the author had always remained within the genre of the historical novel (or historical fiction).
This is not the case with The heartbeat of the earth, since its plot of crime novel is inspired by the actuality of some rural enclaves of Spain. Although love continues to be the cardinal motive for its protagonists, suspicions are running high. Not for less, all the members of this story are suspected of a murder and have some pending issues between them.
Luz Gabás's most romantic novel
Phrase by Luz Gabás.
The author declared in an interview with the Antena 3 Noticias channel (2019) that it must be "the most romantic novel of the four that I have written." In the same way, Gabás specified in his decision to choose the Police genre to develop your story in the middle of a rural context. Where abandonment is the inescapable consequence of the comforts provided by modernity.
About, Gabás explains: “I wanted to talk about the passage of time and how we recover the past and cling to something that disappears and will not return on a symbolic level”. In addition, the Aragonese writer explained for the portal Minutes 20 (2019) that “I don't know how I would put love into a political novel”.
A recommended reading
The heartbeat of the earth It is a very entertaining, exciting novel and capable of keeping the reader's expectation until the end. Similarly, It is a fairly thoughtful reading, it could even be considered of a spiritual nature. Because it very naturally addresses issues such as the value of friendship, loyalty and the paths of each person in the midst of a changing society.