Biography
Paco Martín was one of the first Galician authors to win the Spanish National Book Award in 1986 with his novel The Things of Ramón Lamote, illustrated by Xoán Balboa, about a local dialect teacher and drawer of dreams in a provincial city who organizes the first ever Cloud Race. This book has become a classic of Galician literature and has been translated into various languages, including English, while also appearing in the IBBY Honour List and the White Ravens Catalogue. He is a retired primary-school teacher from Lugo and the author of Galician-language textbooks and collections of riddles. He has written a large amount of fiction for adults and young people. One of his most prominent adult titles is Stories to Read at Night, a rich and varied collection of four stories containing elements of the supernatural.
Synopsis
Stories to Read at Night (160 pages) is considered one of Paco Martín’s best story collections. It was first published as three stories in 1992 and enlarged to four stories in 1995. In these stories, ordinary situations suddenly appear strange or disturbing. In the first story, “The New Fire”, the narrator and his friend Gaspar are trying to find Mr Mirión to ask him a favour.
Sample
That ridiculous dark, thin stain running from the engine of the bus, leaving a wretched trail on the new paint of the rear, falsely lengthening the twisted foot of the red “r” in “Firm” and trying unsuccessfully to sully one of the elegant “l”s in “Solla”, was, for Emilio Álvarez Serantes, Milucho, thirty-one the previous St Peter’s Day, the chronicle of a failure foretold. It was obvious the journey was not going well, and it had to happen now, just when he owed the lion’s share of the repayment for his Mondeo with ABS and alloy wheels. He saw his own confused reflection in the glass of the large back window of the bus, an image that was mixed with things that were also visible inside the bus, or rather dominated by them, immersed in the midst of whatever, moving or still, filled that gloomy space. He removed his sunglasses and with the reverse of his right hand wiped the sweat dripping down his forehead. He had been in the job for almost three years. He had no real complaints, except that it wasn’t fixed or very legal, which deprived him of the right to unemployment benefit in case of need, but also permitted him to display an enviable contempt for anything related to the Inland Revenue. He paid attention for a moment to the few vehicles zooming past on the motorway. He had to get back on the bus and confront those people, who were annoyed and ever willing to lay the blame on someone else. He took a white handkerchief out of his pocket and mechanically rubbed both hands with it. For a job like this, it’s definitely important to always have clean hands. The people you come into contact with have a special regard for such details.
Portico of Galician Literature 