» Marià Vayreda Prize 1996

Joan Ferrer takes a look at his own long existence—almost a thousand years, and exposes some of the things that have condemned him to a punishment which is as harsh as it is unjust. And that’s why he writes a letter to the Queen of England. The author of this missive has lived through all kinds of vicissitudes, from the middle ages to the turn of the third millennium. He has frequented palaces and salons, he has known wise and powerful men; he has loved numerous women with whom he has spoken in many different languages. And now he writes a letter to Her Majesty, and it is not exactly a plea for clemency. Vicènç Pagès Jordà has written a parable about immortality; a story that guides the reader through the centuries.