Author(s): Sigrid Rausing

Literature

Granta 155: Best of Young Spanish-Language Novelists 2 showcases a new generation of remarkable storytellers.

When Granta published the first Best of Young Spanish-Language Novelists ten years ago, it presented a list of explosive talent that included Samanta Schweblin and Alejandro Zambra. Now judges Chloe Aridjis, Horacio Castellanos Moya, Rodrigo Fresan, Aurelio Major, Valerie Miles and Gaby Wood will select the brightest rising stars.

Granta 155 brings together writers from across the Spanish-speaking world and presents them to a global readership.

 This issue of Granta showcases the work of twenty-five of the most exciting writers under thirty-five in the Spanish-speaking world, chosen by judges Chloe Aridjis, Horacio Castellanos Moya, Rodrigo Fresán, Aurelio Major, Gaby Wood and guest editor Valerie Miles.

This issue of Granta showcases the work of twenty-five of the most exciting writers under thirty-five in the Spanish-speaking world, chosen by judges Chloe Aridjis, Horacio Castellanos Moya, Rodrigo Fresán, Aurelio Major, Gaby Wood and guest editor Valerie Miles.

Valerie Miles, an editor, writer and translator, co-founded Granta Spain in 2003.

Granta 155 is published simultaneously with Granta en Español 23: Los Mejores Narradores Jóvenes en Español 2, in Spain and in the US.

Cover image based on a design by Michael Salu

Introduction

Valerie Miles

‘We wanted work of the imagination. Fiction. Consciousness captured on the page.’

Guest editor and co-founder of Granta en Español introduces the issue.

Inti Raymi

Mónica Ojeda

‘The children crossed the valley of ringing rocks, of bird bones, of fox feet.’

Fiction by Mónica Ojeda, translated by Sarah Booker.

Juancho, Baile

José Ardila

‘All of us connected by this kind of universal sunstroke.’

Fiction by José Ardila, translated by Lindsay Griffiths and Adrián Izquierdo.

Buda Flaite

Paulina Flores

‘And there was our protagonist, ambling along through Reyes Park with unhurried steps, but still never losing that fixa.’

Fiction by Paulina Flores, translated by Megan McDowell.

Dengue Boy

Michel Nieva

‘Where his mother had surely hoped for a sweet little mouth, Dengue Boy had misshapen flesh bristling with maxillary palps.’

Fiction by Michel Nieva, translated by Natasha Wimmer.

Capsule

Mateo García Elizondo

‘I wish I could entrust my life to a more solid structure, but whatever. It’s not like anyone gets to file complaints around here.’

Fiction by Mateo García Elizondo, translated by Robin Myers.

Uninhabitants

Gonzalo Baz

‘The day we moved into the neighborhood, the house next door was in ruins, it was an inaccessible, absent place.’

Fiction by Gonzalo Baz, translated by Christina MacSweeney.

Kingdoms

Miluska Benavides

‘The day of the explosion, Bautista made his way through the camp as he had the previous days, months and years.’

Fiction by Miluska Benavides, translated by Katherine Silver.

Travellers Inside the Marquee

Eudris Planche Savón

‘Katherine Mansfield has just stolen my chance to begin a conversation.’

Fiction by Eudris Planche Savón, translated by Margaret Jull Costa.

Insomnia of the Statues

David Aliaga

‘Montreal was becoming smudged with snow and night.’

Fiction by David Aliaga, translated by Daniel Hahn.

Sea of Stone

Aura García-Junco

‘Statues fill the entire avenue; they cover the pavement once meant for cars.’

Fiction by Aura García-Junco, translated by Lizzie Davis.

Our Windowless Home

Martín Felipe Castagnet

‘It was important to touch them, a ritual to wake them up and keep them alive.’

Fiction by Martín Felipe Castagnet, translated by Frances Riddle.

Ruins in Reverse

Carlos Fonseca

‘I couldn’t remember the dates, so anything was possible.’

Fiction by Carlos Fonseca, translated by Megan McDowell.

Borromean Rings

Andrea Chapela

‘If I could make just one call, I’d dial the bar in Madrid.’

Fiction by Andrea Chapela, translated by Kelsi Vanada.

The New Me

Andrea Abreu

‘Needy text messages did not mesh with my new personality.’

Fiction by Andrea Abreu, translated by Julia Sanches.

Nobody Knows What They’re Doing

Camila Fabbri

‘In that instant my sisters were two animals about to work some shit out.’

Fiction by Camila Fabbri, translated by Jennifer Croft.

The Color of Balloons

Dainerys Machado Vento

‘None of these people give a shit that a flock of birds is going to choke to death on those balloons, be they pink or blue.’

Fiction by Dainerys Machado Vento, translated by Will Vanderhyden.

The Animal Gesture

Alejandro Morellón

‘I have drunk from the same waters as the son of Hermes and Aphrodite.’

Fiction by Alejandro Morellón, translated by Esther Allen.

Levert’s Appearance

José Adiak Montoya

‘But as everyone will surely know, that’s not what came to pass.’

Fiction by José Adiak Montoya, translated by Samantha Schnee.

Days of Ruin

Aniela Rodríguez

‘From the sea you came, and into the sea you were condemned to disappear.’

Fiction by Aniela Rodríguez, translated by Sophie Hughes.

Wanjala

Estanislao Medina Huesca

‘Heriberto blamed Spain. He always did.’

Fiction by Estanislao Medina Huesca, translated by Mara Faye Lethem.

Vital Signs

Munir Hachemi

‘She smelled of liquor, and death, and veal.’

Fiction by Munir Hachemi, translated by Nick Caistor.

Lost Children

Irene Reyes-Noguerol

‘The Girls sees. The Girl hears. The Girl says nothing.’

Fiction by Irene Reyes-Noguerol.

Bitter Cherries

Carlos Manuel Álvarez

‘In the long run, staying or leaving both lead to the same absurd condition.’

Fiction by Carlos Manuel Álvarez, translated by Frank Wynne.

A Story of the Sea

Diego Zúñiga

‘That was the big news: Tani’s grandson was debuting.’

Fiction by Diego Zúñiga, translated by Megan McDowell.

Ode to Cristina Morales

Cristina Morales

‘She who says knockout, who says tap-out, speaks the words of glory.’

Fiction by Cristina Morales, translated by Kevin Gerry Dunn.

Author Biography: Sigrid Rausing is Editor and Publisher of Granta magazine and Publisher of Granta Books. She is the author of History, Memory and Identity in Post-Soviet Estonia and the memoirs Everything is Wonderful and Mayhem.