La península de las casas vacías
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A historical journey through the whole peninsula, a sort of Iberian “Macondo”, getting to know its different peoples and cultural voices as well as the most important episodes of the Spanish Civil War. A completely new perspective for the contemporary readership.
This novel tells the demise of a whole family during the Civil War, starting in Jándula, an Andalusian imagined village, and crossing throughout a bleeding Iberia. A story where the real and the imaginary, the epic and the everyday intermingle to form a rich and surreal, yet vivid and credible tapestry.
Covering an eventful period of history – Second Republic, Civil War and exile -, the novel stands out for its narrative style, from the surreal to the magical, and always in a deeply researched, moving and, most importantly, respectful way. In that sense, it’s a direct scion of Javier Cerca’s Soldiers of Salamis.
La península de las casas vacías is an ode to the rural world, echoing Irene Solà’s When I Sing, Mountains Dance, as natural, telluric and fantastic energies of the countryside go hand in hand. The use of “magical neorealism” allows the author to play with time and space, highlighting the most powerful scenes of that time, intertwined with the stories in the protagonist family.
PRESS
«No contemporary novel has moved me so profoundly as The Peninsula of Empty Houses. I am full of amazement and gratitude.» Ian Gibson, internationally praised Hispanist and biographist
«Everything is extraordinary in this book and in its author. Both seem to have come from an unreal world, yet they connect us with the harshest of realities. It is thrilling, extraordinarily well-written. A surprise that I sense will eventually be recognized as a great work. And an author whose name is worth remembering.»
Iñaki Gabilondo, Babelia/El País
«David Uclés accomplishes the narrative feat of resolving with humor, intelligence, and large doses of imagination—an otherworldly magical realism filled with lyricism and surrealism envelops the entire novel.» Andrés Seoane, El Mundo
«Not only is this an excellent book, it also feels generationally significant. It represents a bet to break away from the hegemonic self-referentiality while reconnecting with certain traditions (American postmodernism, magical realism…) that seemed forgotten by writers under 35. An unexpected twist for Spanish narrative.» Nadal Suau, Babelia/El País – Books of the Year
«Ambitious, unique and unparalleled prose… A jewel in Spanish literature. Jándula is Uclés’ Macondo.» Joaquín Sabina, Spanish singer
«I have selected five among all this year novels and the most daring and the most brilliant is this monumental work by David Uclés, a story about the Spanish Civil War with a surrealist twist and a Cervantine narrator who apprehends the reader right away. A marvel that won´t leave anyone unmoved.» Aldo García Arias, Babelia/El País
TRANSLATIONS
Denmark: People’s Press; France: Le Tripode; Greece: Metaichmio, Italy: Neri Pozza; Portugal: Dom Quixote