FERNANDO ARAMBURU - LOS VENCEJOS

 I no longer read contemporary authors. I am a literary scaredy-cat, afraid of wasting my remaining time reading a novel by an upstart not worth his salt, who will most probably disappoint me. I keep away from any "opera prima" by unknown authors. Fernando Aramburu has been in the Spanish literary scene for many years, and I kept away from him for the reasons I explain above. He has been at it long enough, and with success, even international success, that I decided to give his last novel a try. Los vencejos (2021) is an easy read, despite its 700 pages. He has a mastery in the Spanish language few posses, to the point that I was able to gather 231 citations for my upcoming Phraseological Dictionary, English-Spanish. His characters are very true to life and he is able, somehow, to write a "teaching novel", the type of narrative where the reader can learn something profitable to live by. His main character is very opinionated and doesn´t shy away from judging just about anything. The city (village, really) of Madrid looms large in this narrative, even though Aramburu (like Galdós was not) is not a madrileño, but a native of San Sebastián. The novel is such a good read that I urge anyone interested in learning, in good Spanish, in controversial opinions, in Madrid, in humor, to dive into it head-on and enjoy. And this is coming, mind you, from someone who does not make compliments easily.