Montalban’s detective novels: Remembrance of Barcelona’s past
posted on September 11, 2009 at 7:14 pm
In most mystery novels the detective is the star in the spot light and the city, country house, deserted moor, whatever is atmosphere, the source of clues, scenery.
Manual Vazquez Montalban’s detective novels reverse that relationship. His plots are almost non-existent. His detective Jose ‘Pepe’ Carvalho doesn’t do much of anything. At least not in the two novels I’ve read and recommend to you, Offside (1988) and An Olympic Death (1991). (Admittedly, a small sample out of the 22 Carvalho novels Montalban wrote.)
Ah, but Montalban has set his novels in Barcelona, the city where he was born in 1939. (He died in 2003.)
And who needs another star when he has Barcelona? Read more
