The year has ended with the
consolidation of the roman noir and its consecration as the most
vibrant literary genre in Spain. In addition to the legendary ‘Black Week' in Gijón, there have been a number
of other events devoted to the discussion and dissemination of crime
fiction, such as the ‘Barcelona Rendez-Vous', ‘Black May' in Alicante
and the ‘Roman and Film Noir Congress' at the University of Salamanca.
As well as these events, the launch of new journals and the emergence
of an important network of websites, chat room and blogs have all
played their part in encouraging debate and promoting the vitality
of the genre. 2005 has also seen the creation of up to ten specialist
collections that, in some cases, are devoted to reediting classics
that were, until then, only available second hand, whilst hundreds
of new roman noirs have been published.
Since the French reinvented
the European crime novel by injecting social critique into North-American
models, series by European authors have become the reference points
for the genre. One of the best known is that featuring Kurt Wallander,
ending this year with a collection of short stories that sheds
some light on the past of the Inspector from Ystad. Whilst missing
his main protagonist and in the expectation of a new series that
will follow the exploits of Wallander's daughter, Henning Mankell
also published Return of the Dancing Master in
2005. Selb, the detective with a Nazi past created by Bernard Schlink
and the Commissioner Bordelli also bade us farewell. With Nuovo
venuto, Marco Vichi ended his trilogy devoted to the Inspector
from Florence. Three publishing successes also came our way from
Italy: the first by Stefano Turra featuring the Commissioner Gerace:
Non spegnere la luce ; another by the TV presenter
Faletti, the author of Io uccido, je tue, the story
of a serial killer; and the latest instalment from Donna Leon, the
North-American writer resident in Venice, which brings to twelve
the number of books featuring Guido Brunetti. This character's health
is similar to that of Méndez
and Bevilacqua who, more melancholic than ever, have served up another
volume of their series. In addition to the characters created by
Francisco Gonzàlez Ledesma and Lorenzo Silva, others, like
the detectives Humphrey and Angel Esquius, have joined the list of
national detectives. Humphrey, created by Lluís Gutiérrez
made his debut in Putas,
diamantes y cante jondo, whilst the second sprang
from the imagination of Andreu Martín and Jaume Ribera. The
following should also be remembered for making their first appearance
in Spain in 2005: the Inspector Gunnarstrand (En
liten gyllen ring),
Jack Taylor (The Guards, Delirium tremens) and Mrs
Ramotswe (The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency).
More violent and less contemplative
than its European relation, the North-American roman noir seems rooted
in corruption, sex, violence and racism… with crude language, delivered
in quick and concise style. Walter Mosley, Jerome Charyn, Sue Grafton
(whose alphabet mysteries is now at R is for
Ricochet),
James Ellroy, Charlotte Carter are some of the North-American writers
whose books were published in Spain in 2005.
From Cuba came some of the
most talked about Latin-American neo-noir novels, novels which are
traditionally socially and critically engaged. In their most recent
novels, Leonardo Padura and Lorenzo Lunar uncover the hard-hitting
and often raw underside of Caribbean society. Argentina is also enjoying
a flowering of crime fiction talent. This year it was the turn of
Carlos Balmaceda, with Manual del caníbal and
once again Raúl Argemí who depicts the economic crisis
in Patagonia Chu Chu, a novel full of comedy and
adventure. From Mexico, Paco Ignacio Taibo II has sent us Muertos
incómodos,
while the works of detective and engineer Belascoarán have
been reedited. Finally one Guatemalan name to remember, Dante Liano
with El
hombre de Montserrat.
All of these names
reveal the healthy state of crime fiction today, a state of affairs
that is illustrated by the fact that some general literary prizes
have been won by romans noirs, such as Las
vidas ajenas by José Ovejero, the recipient of the Primavera
Prize of 2005. All this shows that finally some recognition is being
accorded a literary form that offers its readers something more than
stories of ‘cops and robbers'.
