PUBLISHED NOVELS
David the Sacristan
“David el Sacristán” is the first novel of Vicente Puchol Eced’s youth, published by Editorial Guerri (Valencia) when he was twenty-one years old. It features a prologue by Juan Bautista Bertrán—his former teacher at the Colegio San José—as well as one by his close friend, Francisco Brines. Both Francisco Brines and Vicente Puchol shared a passion for literature from childhood, wisely guided by their teacher, Juan Bautista Bertrán.
Crates Emancipates Crates
Summary (as per the book cover)
“In *Crates Emancipates Crates*, we are introduced to a most peculiar Penitentiary for Social Misfits (the IPIS), an Educational Institute for Adults; in short, a sort of strange, large school, governed by psychic inquisitors (…). Without any preconceived theses—which is always something to be grateful for, given what it signifies for robust literary vitality—these pages reveal the natural ambiguity of human morality. To state this is to point out, straight away, that we are faced with a work that fatally reflects the vast complexity that characterises life. Here we are presented with the perspective of a defenceless being, whose natural lack of self-knowledge—which, as a human being, is inherent to him—is heightened by society’s (or its institutions’) scientific diagnosis of this very knowledge (…). The result is not only, I dare say, an excellent novel, but something even more valuable: the joyful discovery of a novelist.” (From ‘A Close Portrait of Vicente Puchol’, by Francisco Brines). Back cover of the book, Editorial Prometeo. Valencia, 1981.
The Great Dane
Summary (as per the book cover)
A young civil servant is posted for the first time to a city where tradition and progress, at odds for centuries, are seeing their conflict come to a head. Amidst the administrative squalor of his new posting, he discovers, within, a monumental palace inhabited by dukes who live cloaked in historical splendour, using their eternal vanity to fend off the encroachment of the new. *The Great Dane* is a journey through a gallery of political and economic intrigues, where power, in order to persist, disguises its ambitions and interests with formal propriety, until, at the end of the journey, the gallery is illuminated, the chiaroscuro fades, and the reader discovers, alongside the narrator-protagonist, all the secrets of that great power. The writing is transparent, serving purely as a vehicle for a highly original concept and a narrative in which the author’s creative personality shines through; he has embarked on his career as a novelist in the prime of his maturity. Back cover of the book. Argos Vergara Publishing. Barcelona. 1983.
Germánico
Summary (as per the book cover)
*Germánico* is one of the most significant works in contemporary Spanish fiction. Its author has succeeded in creating an atmosphere of sarcastic social analysis that has no immediate precedent. The story of Germán Bustamante – nicknamed Germánico by his godfather to honour him from the moment of his birth – takes us through a whole series of events that appear mundane but which lay bare the hypocrisy and corruption of the business world. It serves as a pretext for analysing contemporary society with a brilliance and audacity comparable only to the mastery of a Thomas Sharpe or a Martin Amis. La Piedra Lunar Publishing. Valencia. 1989.
Dreams of a Bull´s Hide
Summary (as per the book cover)
Álvaro Prada, a trusted aide to Indalecio Prieto, travels to the city-state of Villadite to seek financial and diplomatic aid for the Spanish Republic, with a view to forcing the rebels into peace negotiations. Villadite was founded and developed in North Africa through successive waves of Spanish exiles – Jews, Muslims, heretics, Moriscos, French sympathisers, liberals, etc. – and is a libertarian democracy hated and harassed by imperial Spain. The Republican agent is intellectually won over by a Villaditan and, together with him, embarks on a campaign to secure his government’s support. Throughout this campaign, he will continually face a debate over the history of Spain and the very nature of the peace mediation itself, first in Villadite and then in the European foreign ministries, where the final political and financial battle over the Republic will be fought at the crucial moment of its armed conflict. Back cover of the book. Editorial Renacimiento. Spain. 2001.
The Man of Smoke
Summary (as per the book cover)
“The Man of Smoke” tells the story of Juan Trevijano, a pianist who, having endured a difficult personal history and after playing in small-time bands, manages to secure a place at the city’s most renowned nightclub. When the nightclub closes its doors, Juan Trevijano, with a tenacity worthy of Beethoven, continues to play alone, perfecting his piano skills as a self-taught musician for many years. One night, an influential and wealthy man, a great music lover, having learnt of his long evenings of practice, hears him play. He befriends him, and after fruitless attempts to secure him a scholarship, decides to fund his advanced studies in Vienna. There, his fortunes take a turn for the better when he comes under the wing of Gretl Breker, a world-famous retired pianist. Not only does she give him the lessons he needs, but a great love blossoms between them, despite the age difference. Gretl encourages him to enter a piano competition that promises to launch the winner onto the world stage. After winning the competition, Juan Trevijano suffers a severe crisis that leads him to rethink his entire life story.
In keeping with this plot, the novel is filled with love, reflection and, above all, music, which is described in such a way that the author merges with the character and expresses, through literature, all his key interpretations. Back cover of the book. Editorial Renacimiento. Spain. 2016.
Living for Death
Summary (as per the book cover)
This is a novel about the struggle between freedom and fanaticism in its worst form: Nazism, one of humanity’s greatest catastrophes. The Nazi hierarchy and the leaders of the Western powers, along with their ministers and ambassadors, perform a dance of horror and death centred on a satanic central figure: Nazism, weaving the narrative’s text from facts and words. The author, drawing on their historical personas—which he rigorously respects—allows them to develop these characters as they see fit. Among the fictional characters is an anti-Nazi group of philosophy lecturers from the University of Hanover who debate the catastrophe that has erupted in Germany; one of them, Herbert von Kleiber, through a supposedly heroic coincidence open to dual interpretation, will come to interact with Hitler and engage in debate with the philosopher Martin Heidegger, of whom. Back cover of the book. Editorial Renacimiento. Spain. 2020. Vicente Puchol is releasing the first digital edition of this book with Uno y Cero Ediciones.
UNPUBLISHED WORKS
The Lost Personalities
Vicente Puchol revised and polished the novel that brought him literary recognition, *Crates Emancipates Crates*, renaming it *The Lost Personalities*. A complete English translation of this work has been produced.
The Mirror of the World
A Certain Writer and Other Stories
Confessions of a Son of Our Time