On March 5, the Círculo Ecuestre held the second session of the cycle of colloquiums: Barcelona through its writers with the presence of the writer Eduardo Mendoza.
After the welcome from the president of the Círculo Ecuestre, Enrique Lacalle, Mendoza starred in a dialogue together with Daniel Fernández, Editor and President of the Federation of Editors' Guilds of Spain.
The renowned writer began the discussion by valuing the heritage of Barcelona literature that has been attributed to him for years. Mendoza recalled the reason that led him to set his works in the Catalan capital: “I became very interested in the history of Barcelona. I was looking for books that talked about real Barcelona, not the shop window and tourist advertisement. That is why I decided to talk about the city of conflicts, contrasts and initiatives in 'The Truth of the Savolta Case'”, he declared. After confessing to suffering from “second novel syndrome”, as a result of the success he obtained with the first, the writer explained that he used the publication of The Mystery of the Haunted Crypt to “receive a bad review and get rid of the worry of what they will say with The City of Wonders.”
Mendoza, with his cosmopolitan disposition acquired after having lived in cities like New York or London, argued during the colloquium that, at the beginning of his career as a writer, “Barcelona was largely unknown to the international public.” The author recalled that "despite the ups and downs, in 1992 a new city began that opened to the world and became a city to have a good time: a perfect mix of Europe and the third world". “It promised European security, but it maintained the chaos of countries where you never know what time it is”, he added.
Asked about Barcelona today, the writer dared to evaluate the following: “It is difficult to make a current diagnosis of Barcelona, but it is clear that it has to rethink itself, because if not it is going to become something that is going to stop being funny”. After saying that “the widespread tourism in Barcelona has been pushing us”, he lamented that “Barcelona is becoming corny because of tourism” and that “it is embarrassing what they have turned into La Boqueria”, he concluded.
The writer, who paved the way in literature by integrating humor, a genre that he called “difficult” because it is “timeless and has very close references”, made the public aware of the close relationship that unites him with the Seix Barral publishing house, with which he has worked since its inception and with which he has published his latest book: Three enigmas for the organization. Mendoza introduced the novel published last January in which the members of a not very professional secret organization face the dangerous investigation of three cases that coincide in time: a death in a hotel on Las Ramblas, the disappearance of a British millionaire on his yacht and the dark finances of a company. The writer concluded his presentation by encouraging the reading of “what was intended to be a 150-page novel” and which has become “the most thuggish book” of his career.