Don’t judge a book by the cover of the DVD of the film made of one of the author’s earlier efforts. I nearly made that mistake when Weidenfeld and Nicolson sent me a copy of The Wind from the East by Almudena Grandes (originally published as Los aires difíciles). All I knew of Grandes, I’m ashamed to say, was that she had written a novel entitled (in translation) The Ages of Lulu. I’d seen the cover of Bigas Luna’s film of that novel in the world cinema section of bookshops; it suggested, at best, soft porn with artistic pretensions.
So I thought I knew what to expect. I was wrong. It turned out to be one of the best novels I’ve read this year.
Its two central characters have fled from Madrid in search of a new life near Cadiz — an area swept by a wind that is said to drive people mad.
One is Sara Gómez, a wealthy woman in her fifties who has never known real family life. The other is Juan Olmedo, a hospital doctor, who brings with him a mentally disabled brother and his young niece, and who knows all too well the pain that members of a family can cause one another. The two are thrown together, though not quite in the way that summary might suggest, for this is a particularly subtle story of starting over. (A rich one, too: Gerardo Herrero managed to make a watchable film of it while ditching most of Sara’s side of the book.)
Much of it is told in flashback, which initially makes for some abrupt and puzzling transitions, but perseverance is well rewarded. It’s a while since I’ve read a novel in which I found myself caring so deeply about about the fate of the characters, both major and minor. And the translation, by Sonia Soto, is superb.