The last night at Tremore Beach
The last night at Tremore Beach is the first novel written by the Spanish sociologist, musician and author Mikel Santiago. The work was published by Ediciones B in 2014. Very soon, the book became a best-seller, selling more than 40.000 copies, and being translated into more than twenty languages. In 2023, the film adaptation of the novel is scheduled, which will be made by Netflix by director Oriol Paulo.
According to Mikel Santiago himself, the story of The last night at Tremore Beach was born during a holiday in one of the existing towns on the coast of Donegal, Ireland, in 2008. At that time, the author lived in Dublin, and wanted to clear up a crisis he was going through in order to finish one of his works.
Synopsis of The last night at Tremore Beach
It is better to isolate yourself to face the blank page
Of all the evils What can a writer suffer? the “blank sheet syndrome”" is one of the worst, since it is about the impossibility of creating some text made by oneself. This, precisely, is what happens to the protagonist of this story.
Peter Harper is a musician and composer who is going through a complicated divorce, after which He decides to isolate himself in a beautiful house in the north of Ireland to be able to finish his last piece. This was too difficult for him at home, where there were only painful memories.
The property that the protagonist rents is several kilometers from the nearest house. Likewise, the land is very far from the town, although not so far that you cannot go to the only pub that exists in the area. The people closest to Peter are Marie and Leo Kogan, an American couple who seem extremely happy.. However, shortly after Harper's arrival, the musician begins to have terrible visions about his neighbors, despite appearances.
The lights that don't let us see
Peter Harper sits at his piano, with the staff paper blank, impeccable of any idea. Therefore, fleeing from him is seen as the appropriate option. At the beginning, the coast of Ireland, the majestic sound of the birds, the coming and going of the waves, and the large window that shows the evocative landscape, are a balm for the protagonist. During his time in Tremore Beach he has seen his children, Beatrice and Jip, and dated Judie, with whom you have a relationship without commitments.
However, the sensation of stillness that man experiences breaks into a thousand pieces at once. What changes everything happens on a stormy night, where thunder and lightning are seen and heard in the background.
Since then, Peter begins to see creepy supernatural images. Apparently, this should not be strange, since, according to the main character's friends, it is not the first time that lightning affects him in this way.
An idyllic hell
The storm passes soon. However, Peter Harper's visions persist…begins to fight the feeling of not knowing if he is going crazy, or if he is right about his predicaments.
The protagonist believes that something evil is approaching Tremore Beach, that something impious and corrupt will open its jaws and swallow the whole. As you can imagine, almost no one believes him. When he tells his girlfriend Judie what's happening to him, she tells him. recommends going to a specialist.
This is a doctor who treated her several years ago, after a distressing experience with a psychopath. The first times, The therapy works and the visions disappear. But, shortly after, they return with much more force.
So, Peter Harper remembers his mother, who also had a special sixth sense. She was able to predict some very important events in the past. Later, the protagonist realizes that this gift passes from parents to children.
Assume madness or avoid death?
The visions that invade Peter Harper show events that no one in their right mind would like to see: know how, when and where your friends are going to die. In this sense, the protagonist must choose whether to pay attention to the premonitory images in his head or appear insane in front of everyone. This is how the main character decides to face the events presented to him by these omens.
Peter Harper fights, Against all odds, to safeguard the lives of the people you love, in a succession of passages whose tension is given in dribs and drabs, with a direct narrative style. Mikel Santiago builds a dark and exciting story in an environment that can be seen, smelled, heard and felt, thanks to the realism that the author prints on the pages of The last night at Tremore Beach.
About the author, Mikel Santiago
Michael SantiagoMichael Santiago was born in 1975, in Portugalete, Vizcaya, Spain. The author completed high school at the private institute Asti Leku Ikastola. Later, he obtained a degree in Sociology from the University of Deusto. Throughout his life and career, Santiago has resided in Ireland, the Netherlands and Bilbao, where he currently lives. In addition to dedicating himself to lyrics, the writer dedicates his time to music, with his rock band, in addition to enjoying the world of software.
His foray into literature was born, precisely, in the confines of the internet, where Mikel used to publish stories. In this way, the author became known on the Internet, self-publishing and publishing four books. It did this through a web platform that allows material to be released to be printed by large publishers, such as iBooks or Barnes & Noble. His success was immediate, as three of his titles appeared on the list of the ten best sellers in the United States.
Other books by Mikel Santiago
Novels
- The bad way (2015);
- Tom Harvey's strange summer (2017);
- The island of the last voices (2018);
- The liar (2020);
- In the middle of the night (2021);
- Among the dead (2022)
stories
- Story of a perfect crime (2010);
- The island of a hundred eyes (2010);
- the black dog (2012);
- Night of Souls and other horror stories (2013);
- The Trace, a paper compilation of stories (2019)