Customer Reviews

Natural History

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Joan Perucho, the unique author from the Catalan area of Spain writes in a moving yet dynamic manner. After reading this novel you can almost believe that a vampire could exist as well as probably feeling comfortable with one. It is very sad that none of his other prose or poetry have been published by Knopf (the publisher of "Natural History") or any other publisher. This articulate, insiteful author deserves to be published in English many more times.

I went into this book, like many other readers past, present and future, looking for an exemplar of Catalan literature. While I'm not sure if this book was that grail, so to speak, it did manage to more than surpass the level of a mere curiosity. Even more, it was superbly able to engage and interest me as a work in and of itself, without worrying about its position in a broader cultural context. The plot was well thought-out and the (main) characters believable and sympathetic. Most important, though, was the adroit way the fantastic elements cooperated with the work's more realistic elements: the story fits in a sort of proto-Magic Realistic context and suggests an affinity with works of authors such as ETA Hoffman or Edgar Allan Poe. I almost feel comfortable putting Perucho just below Marquez within this genre.

However enjoyable this book was, however, I'm not too sure if it was great: there were many loose ends to the narrative and the nationalistic elements became tiresome and heavy-handed after a very short while (although, given the context of its writing, i.e. the height of Franco's power, this is probably the complaint most easily forgiven). Most troublingly, the story arch was overtly and maddeningly conventional and sappy, and begged for a more daring approach.

To its benefit, even if I thought it far from a perfect book, "Natural History" did make me flabbergasted as to why this is Perucho's only work in English translation. Even more, it made me wonder what else is lying there in Catalonia, untranslated and waiting to be read by an Anglophone audience. But unfortunately, until an answer is satisfyingly found, we will just have to be content with this intriguing work.