Richard Gwyn

There was a sense of anything being possible in this very poetic, superbly written book set in Barcelona. You never really know where it's going next (unless it's to another bar: there can't be too many drinking joints in the Gothic quarter that aren't frequented during the story). The supporting cast - members of the expat community - are described in colourful and hilarious fashion, and the descriptions of Barcelona itself are perceptive, and a joy to read: "There was an edge of muted excitement in the air. Barcelona often seemed like that: a city on the brink, infatuated with its own improbability. I loved these twisting alleys, the syncopated snatches of music drifting out from open windows, the long shadows, even the perpetual odour of an antique drainage system overlaid with sand, cement and cheap cigar smoke."

The story reminded me very much of one of my favourite books, John Fowles' 'The Magus', in the sense that neither the reader nor the narrator can quite figure out what is going on. It achieves exactly the right combination of reality and the surreal. Like 'The Magus' I suspected there would not be an explanation for everything come the end, and just like 'The Magus', I didn't care. Writing as good as this I could go on reading indefinitely.… (mer)