Thriller

Terra Alta

Terra Alta

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-03-15 02:41:36
  • Update Date：2025-09-24
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Javier Cercas
  • ISBN：8411070905
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Summary

Un crimen terrible sacude la apacible comarca de la Terra Alta: los propietarios de su mayor empresa， Gráficas Adell， aparecen asesinados tras haber sido sometidos a atroces torturas。 Se encarga del caso Melchor Marín， un joven policía y lector voraz llegado desde Barcelona cuatro años atrás， con un oscuro pasado a cuestas que le ha convertido en una leyenda del cuerpo y que cree haber enterrado bajo su vida feliz como marido de la bibliotecaria del pueblo y padre de una niña llamada Cosette， igual que la hija de Jean Valjean， el protagonista de su novela favorita: Los miserables。

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Reviews

Jose Miguel Porto ，

El matrimonio Adell fue hallado muerto en casa。 Habían sido torturados。 Con ellos muere también el ama de llaves。 No hubo robo de pertenencias。 Los Adell eran una familia rica de la localidad。 Melchor Marín， quien había perdido también a su madre sin hallar al culpable está involucrado en la investigación。 Se investigan a todos los presuntos responsables sin que la investigación llegue a buen puerto hasta que las autoridades deciden dar por concluida la investigación sin finalmente hallar al res El matrimonio Adell fue hallado muerto en casa。 Habían sido torturados。 Con ellos muere también el ama de llaves。 No hubo robo de pertenencias。 Los Adell eran una familia rica de la localidad。 Melchor Marín， quien había perdido también a su madre sin hallar al culpable está involucrado en la investigación。 Se investigan a todos los presuntos responsables sin que la investigación llegue a buen puerto hasta que las autoridades deciden dar por concluida la investigación sin finalmente hallar al responsable。 Melchor Marin no está de acuerdo con el resultado y decide continuar sus propias investigaciones。 Marín， amante de Los Miserables， se identifica con Javert， el inspector Francés de conducta intachable que no descansará hasta encontrar al responsable。 Melchor Marín encuentra que la justicia es compleja， es una cuestión de forma más que de fondo。 Se le presenta un dilema moral a moral cuando al conocer la verdad tiene dos opciones， entre entregar al responsable de la muerte o no hacerlo porque el motivo del asesinato lo justificaba。 。。。more

GONZA ，

Hacía mucho tiempo que no me apasionaba tanto una novela policíaca como para leerla en un día de principio a fin。Cercas mezcla muy bien los dos planos temporales y describe estupendamente a los personajes， que aunque son muchos， nunca se confunden durante la lectura。Las novelas que el protagonista comenta con Olga están cuidadosamente escogidas y las constantes comparaciones entre Melchor y Javert o Jean Valjean me hicieron pensar mucho。Era tanto che non mi appassionavo ad un giallo cosí tanto， Hacía mucho tiempo que no me apasionaba tanto una novela policíaca como para leerla en un día de principio a fin。Cercas mezcla muy bien los dos planos temporales y describe estupendamente a los personajes， que aunque son muchos， nunca se confunden durante la lectura。Las novelas que el protagonista comenta con Olga están cuidadosamente escogidas y las constantes comparaciones entre Melchor y Javert o Jean Valjean me hicieron pensar mucho。Era tanto che non mi appassionavo ad un giallo cosí tanto， da leggerlo in un giorno dall'inizio alla fine。Cercas mescola benissimo i due piani temporali e descrive benissimo i personaggi， che anche se sono tanti， non si confondono mai durante la lettura。 I romanzi di cui il personaggio principale discute con Olga， sono stati scelti con cura e i paragoni costanti tra Melchor e Javert o Jean Valjean mi hanno parecchie utili riflessioni。 。。。more

Richard ，

Going into this I had no preconceptions since it was my first Cercas novel。 It's a decent， if run-of-the-mill detective caper， with some rather gruesome scenes as well as some interesting real-world/non-fiction links。 I disliked the fact it was divided in two parts， which for me at least， meant the continuity was interrupted and my attention dwindled slightly。 I also thought the 'whodunnit' was rather telegraphed and I actually figured it out as a result。 I will seek out Cercas' other work but w Going into this I had no preconceptions since it was my first Cercas novel。 It's a decent， if run-of-the-mill detective caper， with some rather gruesome scenes as well as some interesting real-world/non-fiction links。 I disliked the fact it was divided in two parts， which for me at least， meant the continuity was interrupted and my attention dwindled slightly。 I also thought the 'whodunnit' was rather telegraphed and I actually figured it out as a result。 I will seek out Cercas' other work but will probably resist the urge to dip into any sequels related to this character。 My thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for granting this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Pauls ，

Una historia más protagonizada por un policía con un pasado oscuro。 El principio resulta un poco difícil de leer， pero a medida que se avanza， se coge ritmo y no se la puede soltar。 La recomiendo si te gustan las novelas policíacas， en las que la trama contiene un gran trasfondo y se enrevesa。 Voy a por la segunda…

Javier Férez ，

Digamos que en Terra Alta hay dos libros: un thriller regulero y un drama soberbio。 Todos los capítulos que tratan del pasado del protagonista me han parecido buenísimos en casi todos los aspectos: la historia， los personajes y la forma de desarrollarlos。 El problema， que es la trama secundaria y que， al final， Cercas la descuida y， de hecho， ni la cierra。 El thriller me parece flojo porque si bien el caso que se plantea es atractivo， no tiene ni pies ni cabeza la forma de llevar el caso。 No hab Digamos que en Terra Alta hay dos libros: un thriller regulero y un drama soberbio。 Todos los capítulos que tratan del pasado del protagonista me han parecido buenísimos en casi todos los aspectos: la historia， los personajes y la forma de desarrollarlos。 El problema， que es la trama secundaria y que， al final， Cercas la descuida y， de hecho， ni la cierra。 El thriller me parece flojo porque si bien el caso que se plantea es atractivo， no tiene ni pies ni cabeza la forma de llevar el caso。 No hablemos si quiera del tremendo Deux Ex Machina final。 Una cosa que se hace pesada， también， son las continuas referencias a Los Miserables de Víctor Hugo。 Sí， es el libro favorito del prota y sí， es parte fundamental para entenderle a él y a sus circunstancias。 Pero de ahí a citarlo cada cinco páginas hay un trecho。 Por cierto， que este libro haya ganado 600。000 euros por llevarse el Planeta es de traca。 No me creo que no se presentase un libro mejor， aunque ya sabemos un poco cómo funciona。 。。。more

Gloria Perez ，

Me gusto mucho ， viaje por Cataluña y Barcelona con el。 Policiaco ， entretenido

Duncan Beattie （Fiction From Afar） ，

While British crime fiction readers are keen to enjoy novels set within the British Isles， North America or Scandinavia， perhaps one of the mysteries of the genre is that they are less inclined to read novels set in the locations they are more likely to visit。 While it may be the case that a back street in cold city or an isolated location may appear the more natural place for murder to take place than a sea resort， there are a range of fantastic crime fiction novels which strongly portray stron While British crime fiction readers are keen to enjoy novels set within the British Isles， North America or Scandinavia， perhaps one of the mysteries of the genre is that they are less inclined to read novels set in the locations they are more likely to visit。 While it may be the case that a back street in cold city or an isolated location may appear the more natural place for murder to take place than a sea resort， there are a range of fantastic crime fiction novels which strongly portray strong atmospheric settings and convincing opportunities for killings and their related investigations in Spain。 These include novels by Víctor del Árbol， Eva García Sáenz de Urturi， Dolores Redondo and Teresa Solana。 Even The Darkest Night by Javier Cercas can definitely be added to that list。Cercas is certainly not a new name， his first novel The Motive was published in 1987 and he has since followed a varied career as a lecturer， a novelist， a short story writer and essayist。 Several of his novels have focussed on historical and political developments in Spain since the civil war of the 1940s and the upheaval during the neo-fascist regime of Franco。 Yet with Even The Darkest Night， he has orientated his writing towards crime fiction with some recognisable elements of his earlier writing。 With the subtitle of "A Terra Alta Investigation" it is clear that Cercas is investing a lot of mileage in his principle character of Melchor Marín as the reader is shown much of his backstory - being raised by a Barcelona prostitute， working for a Colombian drug cartel， imprisonment and before becoming a police officer and then the hero of a terrorist attack; while the novel also follows the investigation of a prosperous couple living in rural Catalonia。 While writing very much in his own style， I feel there is a degree of similarity between his writing style and that of the sadly departed Carlos Ruiz Zafón in so much as the author writes with a warm richness and detailed literary style which captures the imagination of the reader。 Despite some of the dark subject nature of the story， Even The Darkest Night is an irresistibly readable story which features strongly the concepts of justice， revenge and remaining true to ones' ideals。 The translation by Anne McLean is excellent。 There is a real sense of direction with the plotting which continually fascinates both in Melchor's present but also in the events which shaped his character。 Contrasting themes of Spanish and Catalan identity and differing perceptions of history dating back to the civil war form significant side issues that I found very interesting。 I was lucky enough to read this novel back in October 2021 and I felt at the time that this could be one of the most essential crime fiction reads of 2022。 Having read around a dozen books that have or will be published this year， I have seen little to change that impression。 I would strongly encourage crime fiction readers who might have previously overlooked crime fiction by Spanish authors to give this novel a try as I personally found it a very exciting and attention grabbing read。 I'm already keenly awaiting the translation of further novels in the series。 。。。more

Chiara ，

Da amante dei gialli devo dire che lo svolgimento delle indagini sul colpevole non mi hanno sorpreso più di tanto， era palese fin dall'inizio （a mio parere） chi fosse stato， anche se non ne avevo capito il motivo。 È un libro che ho comunque letto con curiosità， scritto in modo molto semplice poco "letterario"， ma comunque scorrevole （anche troppo） e a tratti vaganente banale。Mentre lo leggevo e vedevo la storia andare in una direzione opposta a quella che io immaginavo， pensavo che poteva avere Da amante dei gialli devo dire che lo svolgimento delle indagini sul colpevole non mi hanno sorpreso più di tanto， era palese fin dall'inizio （a mio parere） chi fosse stato， anche se non ne avevo capito il motivo。 È un libro che ho comunque letto con curiosità， scritto in modo molto semplice poco "letterario"， ma comunque scorrevole （anche troppo） e a tratti vaganente banale。Mentre lo leggevo e vedevo la storia andare in una direzione opposta a quella che io immaginavo， pensavo che poteva avere delle potenzialità， ci sono spunti interessanti， ho ad esempio pensato un po' alla prima stagione di "True Detective" （collega più vecchio del protagonista， che ha un passato tormentato， omicidio che all'inizio sembrava legato ad un qualche tipo di rituale religioso ecc。。。）; quindi da una parte è meglio che il buon Cercas sia andato a parare altrove， ma dall'altra avrei voluto più mistero e suspence， che durante la lettura non ho mai sperimentato。Non è stata una di quelle letture al cardiopalma， in cui tutto può succedere fino all'ultima pagina， ma è stata comunque piacevole。 。。。more

Fernando Silva ，

O autor mostra-nos como o ódio pode moldar o interior e a existência de um ser， transformando-o num sentimento que toma conta e conduz uma vida inteira。 Como é dito a Melchor， “as verdadeiras feridas são outras。 As que ninguém vê。 As que as pessoas trazem em segredo。 São essas que explicam tudo”。

Gerardo Rodríguez ，

No he leído nada más del autor y， a decir verdad， escogí este libro porque el año pasado me leí otro Premio Planeta que me resultó una buena sorpresa; este no fue el caso。 Tanto así como ser un thriller， no lo sé，no encontré momentos en los que la tensión y el suspenso estuvieran escritos o se percibieran presentes por lo menos （y por lo que entiendo eso es precisamente lo que hace al género）， no creo que baste con un crimen inicial para hacer de una novela un thriller。Por otro lado el único per No he leído nada más del autor y， a decir verdad， escogí este libro porque el año pasado me leí otro Premio Planeta que me resultó una buena sorpresa; este no fue el caso。 Tanto así como ser un thriller， no lo sé，no encontré momentos en los que la tensión y el suspenso estuvieran escritos o se percibieran presentes por lo menos （y por lo que entiendo eso es precisamente lo que hace al género）， no creo que baste con un crimen inicial para hacer de una novela un thriller。Por otro lado el único personaje que parece trabajado es Melchor， el protagonista de la obra。 De ahí en fuera tenemos montones y montones y montones de personajes que， para ser la historia de un tipo solitario y duro， resultan ser fantásticos amigos， presentes todo el tiempo cuya personalidad se resume， en algunos a cosas a ser “independentistas catalanes” （esto entre comilla por que lo único que sabemos de esto es qué hay una bandera de Cataluña en la comisaría y que el sargento se la pasa llamando “españolazo” a Melchor。 Y pues de Melchor， si， su personalidad está un poco más desarrollada， pero esto sólo a partir de qué lee novelas y que la novela que ama es Los Miserables。Sinceramente no veo por qué Terra Alta es merecedora de un premio， aunque luego entonces es un Premio Planeta y vuelvo a tener la impresión que tenía de dicho galardón: no es más que una estrategia de ventas， y una muy buena al parecer porque de no ser por eso no me hubiese leído Terra Alta。 。。。more

Mike ，

Spanish author Javier Cercas begins his new Terra Alta series with the publication of Even the Darkest Night。 Detective Melchor Marín is sent to a murder scene where a wealthy elderly couple was brutally murdered。 Set in a small town in Cataloniat， the murder investigation goes nowhere and is shelved despite Melchor’s protests。 There are a number of chapters revealing Melchor’s life as a son of a prostitute， jailed for driving for a Colombian drug cartel and relocating to Terra Alta due to his a Spanish author Javier Cercas begins his new Terra Alta series with the publication of Even the Darkest Night。 Detective Melchor Marín is sent to a murder scene where a wealthy elderly couple was brutally murdered。 Set in a small town in Cataloniat， the murder investigation goes nowhere and is shelved despite Melchor’s protests。 There are a number of chapters revealing Melchor’s life as a son of a prostitute， jailed for driving for a Colombian drug cartel and relocating to Terra Alta due to his anti-terrorist actions。 If you like stylish police procedurals with rich characters and European flavoured noir， then this four-star ratingtis a delight。 With thanks to Quercus Books and the author， for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes。 As always， the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given， without influence。 。。。more

Daniel Fernandez ，

Es un thriller muy entretenido。 Lo curioso es que lo más interesante no es la investigación policial， sino los flashbacks al pasado del protagonista。 El final no es espectacular y un poco abrupto。 Leeré el siguiente de la saga: Independencia。 3。5/5

Irus ，

Está bien。 Una novela negra entretenida。

Elaine Tomasso ，

I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of Even the Darkest Night， a police procedural set in Catalonia’s Terra Alta featuring Melchor Malín of the Mossos d’Esquadra。An elderly couple， the Adells， are brutally murdered in their home。 As the couple were prominent in the area and the murders horrific a task force is established and then disbanded when they run out of clues and investigative leads。 Melchor risks his job to continue investigating and pays a terrible pri I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of Even the Darkest Night， a police procedural set in Catalonia’s Terra Alta featuring Melchor Malín of the Mossos d’Esquadra。An elderly couple， the Adells， are brutally murdered in their home。 As the couple were prominent in the area and the murders horrific a task force is established and then disbanded when they run out of clues and investigative leads。 Melchor risks his job to continue investigating and pays a terrible price。Even the Darkest Night is an interesting read with a more literary approach than is standard in the genre。 I admit that I was baffled by all the references to Hugo’s Les Misérables， because I haven’t read it or seen the musical， and that is a bit of a problem because it’s Melchor’s favourite book。 To be honest the references sailed over my head and I probably lost some of the impact of the novel because of it。On the other hand I liked the murder investigation and the story of Melchor’s turbulent life which is gradually unwound over the course of the novel。 They go hand in hand and share equal billing。 The novel has a really strong start with the gory murder and Melchor’s early life。 The tone is almost forceful and really pulls the reader in。 I was fascinated by these first chapters and couldn’t get enough。 Of course， the information feed slows as the novel progresses and the novel contents itself with Melchor’s reactions to events and， I suppose， non events。 It get more philosophical and the literary allusions increase， so that part didn’t hold my attention so much。 The end of the novel comes back to the way of the beginning in a rush of explanations and bitterness。 I like the solution which is elegant in its use of genre tropes and， no， I’m not going to enumerate them。The novel is told entirely from Melchor’s point of view and slips between the present and the past effortlessly with the scenes from his past being used to highlight his current world view。 He is an interesting character， poacher turned gamekeeper if you like， having left prison after serving time and becoming a police officer。 There is an aura of suppressed （and sometimes not so suppressed） violence to him and yet， he is a thinking man。 In fiction I like him， in real life I think I’d be incredibly wary。Even the Darkest Hour is a good read， if not quite what I was expecting。 。。。more

Rita ，

3，5*

Ana Moreno Amaya ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Bien escrito pero personalmente me ha parecido un poco lento y falto de sorpresas， la única sorpresa para mi fue cuando mataron a Olga

Helen ，

The title of this book tells us that the wonderful French writer Victor Hugo is likely to play a part。 It comes from Hugo’s famous quote “Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise。” This is true for the main character of this book who had had a very bad start in life being the son of a prostitute with no known father。 He ends up in prison where he learns the joy of reading and in particular reading Victor Hugo。 The book is quite complex and much as I am interested in the history of S The title of this book tells us that the wonderful French writer Victor Hugo is likely to play a part。 It comes from Hugo’s famous quote “Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise。” This is true for the main character of this book who had had a very bad start in life being the son of a prostitute with no known father。 He ends up in prison where he learns the joy of reading and in particular reading Victor Hugo。 The book is quite complex and much as I am interested in the history of Spain and the Spanish civil war， it was the crime aspect of the book that hooked me。 The ending left a bit to the imagination but nevertheless， this is a good read very much enjoyed by a friend of mine in its original Spanish。 Thank you Netgalley！ 。。。more

Andrew Smith ，

Melchor had it tough growing up。 Born to a prostitute who worked the area close to the Barcelona football stadium， he never knew who his father was。 Eventually he drifted into crime and in due course was arrested and charged for his involvement with a drug gang。 In prison he was introduced to books and， in particular， found some comfort amongst the pages of the Victor Hugo classic Les Misérables， a book he was to return to again and again and within which he was to see echos of his own life。 And Melchor had it tough growing up。 Born to a prostitute who worked the area close to the Barcelona football stadium， he never knew who his father was。 Eventually he drifted into crime and in due course was arrested and charged for his involvement with a drug gang。 In prison he was introduced to books and， in particular， found some comfort amongst the pages of the Victor Hugo classic Les Misérables， a book he was to return to again and again and within which he was to see echos of his own life。 And as fortune would have it， he found that he had a benefactor in the form of the lawyer who had acted as his defence counsel in court – a friend， it seems， of his mother。 I won’t go into how it came about， but suffice to say his life took a major turn for the better and with the help of his benefactor he found himself， some years later， working （strange as it may seem） as a police officer in a sparsely populated area called Terra Alta， in the region of Catalonia。 Crime is rare here but one night he’s called to a horrific scene: three people murdered， two of them having been tortured horribly before being put out of their misery。 The murder scene is the home of the owner of the largest business in Terra Alta。 There appear to have been no witnesses and with no identifiable suspects it seems that perhaps this triple murder is to remain a mystery。At this point there’s quite a lot going on: the ongoing investigation into the murders， a second mystery back in Barcelona that is constantly playing on Melchor’s mind and then another death which threatens to tip him over the edge。 In addition to receiving updates on current events， we start to learn some of the history of the region， much of it linked to the Spanish Civil War。 It’s a violent history， with the Battle of Ebro – the longest and largest battle of the war – having been fought here in 1938。 In the bars and restaurants， amongst the elder members of the population stories from the war remain the most likely topic of conversation。But despite all this， or perhaps because of this， the tale seemed to slow at its midpoint， its energy dissipating。 Thankfully， the pace picked up again in the final section and this tangled web of a story started to edge toward an exciting climax。 In this complex， convoluted tale there was never going to be a neat and easy ending and this proved to be the case。 There is resolution， but not all loose ends are neatly tied off。 My personal view is that this is okay， I don’t mind being left to imagine how certain elements played out。 But with two significant mysteries remaining unsettled it’s possible that some readers might not feel fully satisfied。My thanks to Quercus Books for supplying a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Edmundo Gonzalez ，

Un bajón en la obra de Cercas。 Es tan malo que parece que lo escribió Perez-Reverte。

Carmen ，

Muy flojito

Thiago Oliveira ，

Excelente！！！

Hedoga ，

Me ha gustado y lo recomiendo。Sin haberme parecido tampoco algo espectacular （mi premio planeta en este género indudablemente sería siempre para Jordi Sierra i Fabrá）， tiene algo， que te deja buen sabor de boca。La estructura es chula， tiene una trama pero la salpica con pequeñas historias de la vida de los personajes o de la comarca en otro tiempo que a mí me han resultado muy agradables。Además tiene "buen gusto" tratando un tema peliagudo como es el de la Guerra Civil， coincido con el autor en Me ha gustado y lo recomiendo。Sin haberme parecido tampoco algo espectacular （mi premio planeta en este género indudablemente sería siempre para Jordi Sierra i Fabrá）， tiene algo， que te deja buen sabor de boca。La estructura es chula， tiene una trama pero la salpica con pequeñas historias de la vida de los personajes o de la comarca en otro tiempo que a mí me han resultado muy agradables。Además tiene "buen gusto" tratando un tema peliagudo como es el de la Guerra Civil， coincido con el autor en lo que dice en el libro sobre lo que realmente importa。Espero que también sea de vuestro gusto y si， seguro que me pensare leer Los miserables。 ;） 。。。more

Laia ，

3，5 ⭐

Roman Clodia ，

This is a surprising departure for Cercas who moves away from his more literary writing to give us a lurid police procedural - there's a gory torture scene， lots of police who are more names than personality， a protagonist with a crowded backstory who has gone from prison to the police because he was inspired by reading Les Miserables。。。 and a climactic long confession at the end built on one of those long-held revenge plots that has been simmering for years。 It's fine as an effortless tube read This is a surprising departure for Cercas who moves away from his more literary writing to give us a lurid police procedural - there's a gory torture scene， lots of police who are more names than personality， a protagonist with a crowded backstory who has gone from prison to the police because he was inspired by reading Les Miserables。。。 and a climactic long confession at the end built on one of those long-held revenge plots that has been simmering for years。 It's fine as an effortless tube read （though that opening scene is too bloody for a morning commute！） but it's not what I expected from Cercas。Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley 。。。more

Federica ，

Ho conosciuto Cercas grazie ad un Podcast di Mario Calabresi e finendo questo Terra Alta la domanda che ho fatto a me stessa è stata: ma come ho fatto a non sentirlo neppure mai nominare prima？ Misteri del lettore， anche quello accanito。 Cercas dà vita ad un bellissimo e drammatico personaggio， Melchor Marin， forse il poliziotto più vero di cui abbia letto negli ultimi tempi。 Perché Melchor è un uomo innanzitutto， come tutti noi， un uomo che nasconde un passato complicato， un uomo da terra di co Ho conosciuto Cercas grazie ad un Podcast di Mario Calabresi e finendo questo Terra Alta la domanda che ho fatto a me stessa è stata: ma come ho fatto a non sentirlo neppure mai nominare prima？ Misteri del lettore， anche quello accanito。 Cercas dà vita ad un bellissimo e drammatico personaggio， Melchor Marin， forse il poliziotto più vero di cui abbia letto negli ultimi tempi。 Perché Melchor è un uomo innanzitutto， come tutti noi， un uomo che nasconde un passato complicato， un uomo da terra di confine tra il bene e il male， chiamato sempre a fare delle scelte， a volte complicate， un uomo che nella sua vita complicata è sempre stato sostenuto da degli affetti， che lo hanno reso quello che è， proprio perché non hanno avuto mai paura di chi egli è。Intorno alla sua storia un’indagine， ben narrata， con all’origine un crimine efferato e uno sviluppo non scontato con nello sfondo il Sud della Catalogna。Assolutamente consigliato a chi non si accontenta di letture banali。 。。。more

Sylcaron ，

Difficile de concevoir un ex délinquant， ex détenu devenir un policier。 Policier possédant tous les clichés du genre sans exception！ Et le parallèle avec Les misérables c’est de la foutaise！

Paul Fulcher ，

“What doesn’t convince me is the theory that they were merely burglars。” “Why not？” Deputy Inspector Gomà asks。 “Because it seems implausible that thieves would spend so much time torturing an elderly couple that way。” “I agree，” Pires says。 “The problem is that reality is full of implausibilities。 It’s a bit different from novels that way， isn’t it？” Melchor is accustomed to his commanding officers and colleagues making ironic comments about his reading habits。 He’s not bothered by sarcasm and “What doesn’t convince me is the theory that they were merely burglars。” “Why not？” Deputy Inspector Gomà asks。 “Because it seems implausible that thieves would spend so much time torturing an elderly couple that way。” “I agree，” Pires says。 “The problem is that reality is full of implausibilities。 It’s a bit different from novels that way， isn’t it？” Melchor is accustomed to his commanding officers and colleagues making ironic comments about his reading habits。 He’s not bothered by sarcasm and doesn’t rise to it often。 “Not good ones， no，” he says。 “But bad ones are， yes。”“Then you should read bad novels， Marín，” Deputy Inspector Gomà says。 “You’d learn more。 You’d learn for example that reality is a place where you find all sorts， including a whole bunch of nuts and psychopaths who don’t follow any rules。 Much less the ones in novels。”“Novels don’t have rules，” Melchor says gently。 “That’s their charm。 But it doesn’t matter。 Not even in a terrible novel would mere burglars have tortured the Adells。 It makes no sense。Javier Cercas has been to date one of a handful of authors in my pantheon， authors where I have read and will read all their books （translated into English）。 So I awaited the translation of his book Terra Alta with some anticipation。 The original won the Premio Planeta de Novela， Spain's richest literary prize， albeit one awarded by a publisher and which tends to favour their own novels。 The English translation Even The Darkest Hour is from Anne McLean。Cercas is perhaps best known in the Anglosphere for his breakthrough novel， translated into English by Anne McLean as Soldiers of Salamis。 But he followed this with a collection of fascinating “novels without fiction”， books where he explored a real moment in history or a real person， and asked questions， in a way only a novel can do， that have no definitive answers。 His literary philosophy was explained in a brilliant series of essays translated by Anne McLean as The Blind Spot:The novel is not the genre of answers， but that of questions: writing a novel consists of posing a complex question in order to formulate it in the most complex way possible， not to answer it， or not to answer it in a clear and unequivocal way; it consists of immersing oneself in an enigma to render it insoluble， not to decipher it （unless rendering it insoluble is， precisely， the only way to decipher it）。 That enigma is the blind spot， and the best things these novels have to say they say by way of it: by way of that silence bursting with meaning， that visionary blindness， that radiant darkness， that ambiguity without solution。 That blind spot is what we are。In other words: in the end there is no clear， unequivocal， emphatic answer; only an ambiguous， equivocal， contradictory， essentially ironic answer， which doesn’t even resemble an answer and that only the reader can give。 However， rather disappointingly given this manifesto， Cercas here has essentially written a standard detective novel。 As the TLS review put it "he has won Spain's most prestigious literary prize with what is certainly his least representative book"。Cercas does， to be fair， give his hero Melchor Marín a literary foundation。 Son of a prostitute， father unknown， and a teenage delinquent who soon finds himself sucked into the drug trade， and imprisoned。 His mother hires a close friend， a lawyer to defend him， who success in reducing his sentence and becomes something of a father figure to Melchor， particularly after his mother is murdered。His life is transformed when， in prison， he reads Hugo’s Les Miserables， identifying not so much with Valjean as with Javert， the relentless detective and something of an anti-hero to most readers。 He vows to train to become a police detective when he leaves prison， in part to be able to track down his mother’s murderers。He manages （with the lawyer's help） to join the police force but although he finds someone who knew his mother well， and saw her get in the car from which she didn't return， he reaches a dead end。 But travelling back to Barcelona he is caught up in a （fictionalised version of the real-life） terrorist attack in Cambrils in 2017 （https://en。wikipedia。org/wiki/2017_Ba。。。）。 In the novel it is Melchor who single-handedly kills all four terrorists。For his own safety he is transferred to a quiet town in the Tarragona region of Terra Alta。He understood that this time away from Barcelona could be more than the conventional holiday he’d imagined， more of a holiday from himself， and he believed he understood Jean Valjean’s fleeting happiness when， at the beginning of Les Misérables ， he changed his place of residence， left behind his ignominious convict past and began a new life as a new man， endowed with a new identity: Monsieur Madeleine。As the novel opens he has lived there a few years， and is coming up to age 30。 Now settled down in a relationship with the town's librarian （the two bond over her recommendations of various classic 19th and 20th century novels） he has a slightly troubled reputation as a maverick policeman， who takes extra-judicial action against those who are violent to women。 He is called to the scene of a shocking crime， the brutal， almost ritualistic， torture and murder of an elderly couple， Terra Alta's richest business people。There is also a political undercurrent with both the legacy of the Civil War， Cercas’s favourite topic， very much still dominating the region （the scene of the bloody and decisive Battle of the Elbo） as well as the modern day divides caused by Catalonian nationalism。But it is hard to get away from the fact that a lot of the book is standard police procedural， with most of the cliches of that genre （including indeed the troubled detective hero）They say goodbye on the stairs and， while Salom goes down to the underground car park to get his car， Melchor heads for the office he shares with the corporal and the nine other members of the Terra Alta Investigations Unit （Sergeant Blai has an office of his own）， a vast room with five desks， five computers and a bank of filing cabinets。 He finds Corominas and Feliu there， two colleagues from forensics who are chatting and drinking coffee， who ask him if there is any news。 Melchor tells them no， and since he knows that they should be at the Adells’ house， collecting clues， he asks them the same thing。 Corominas， a big man with a round head and a boxer’s nose who’s on the heavy side， tells him there’s no news from there either and adds that they’ve come to the station to deposit the evidence they’ve collected so far。A find it hard to judge how this would appeal to crime novel fans， although it didn't particularly seem to work as a mystery， the whodunnit solved， rather suddenly， about 2/3rds of the way through the novel and not in a particularly interesting way。One I'm afraid that disappointed my expectations for one of my favourite authors， and disappointingly this seems to be the first in a series， the second Terra Alta mystery already published in Spanish。Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for the ARC。 Selected bibliographyNovels:1987， El móvil1989， El inquilino （published together as The Tenant and The Motive） （English translation by Anne McLean， 2005）1994， La obra literaria de Gonzalo Suárez1997， El vientre de la ballena1998， Una buena temporada2000， Relatos reales2001， Soldados de Salamina （Soldiers of Salamis） （English translation by Anne McLean， 2004）2005， La velocidad de la luz （The Speed of Light） （English translation by Anne McLean， 2006）2009， Anatomía de un instante （The Anatomy of a Moment） （English translation by Anne McLean， 2011）2012， Las leyes de la frontera （Outlaws） （English translation by Anne McLean， 2014）https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。2014， El Impostor （The Impostor） （English translation by Frank Wynne， 2017）My review: https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。2017， El monarca de las sombras （Lord of All the Dead）My review: https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。 2019 - Terra Alta （Even the Darkest Night） （English translation by Anne McLean， 2022）2021 - Independencia: Terra Alta 2and the essay:2016， El punto ciego （The Blind Spot） （English translation by Anne McLean， 2018）My review: https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。 。。。more

Hdzmtn ，

Esperaba un poco más de este libro，sin duda lo que si conecté con el personaje principal es el amor por las novelas y cómo un libro puede ser parte de nuestro día a día en incluso definir situaciones que sobrellevamos。 Es fácil y ágil para leerse，un principio interesante sin embargo conectó la historia por otro lado no esperado。

Eduard Rosillo ，

Quan vol ser una novel·la negra és massa genèrica， però quan vol ser altres coses és encara pitjor。

Ana ，

Entretenido。 De fácil lectura

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Terra Alta

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Terra Alta&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Terra Alta&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0