''Montano's Malady'' ( es, El mal de Montano) is a 2002 novel by the Spanish writer

Enrique Vila-Matas Enrique Vila-Matas (born 31 March 1948 in Barcelona) is a Spanish author. He has authored several award-winning books that mix genres and has been branded as one of the most original and prominent writers in the Spanish language. He is a foundi ...

. It has also been published in English as ''Montano''.

Plot

The writer Jose Cardoso Pires is obsessed with literature. As he travels around Europe and suffers from writer's block, reality and fiction merge in his mind. The book consists of several distinct parts: a short story by the main character, the story of the short story's creation, a biographical dictionary of literary influences, and an angry account of how the narrator was betrayed by his wife and by a friend.

Reception

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' called the book an "inventive novel" clearly influenced by

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...

. The critic wrote that exhaustion caused by the literary form is a deliberate theme, but that this "doesn't save the book from its own devices". The book received the

Premio Herralde The Premio Herralde is a Spanish literary prize. It is awarded annually by the publishing house Anagrama Anagrama is a Spanish publisher founded in 1969 by Jorge Herralde. In 2010 it was sold to the Italian publisher Feltrinelli. Since 1969, Ana ...

References

{{reflist

External links

New Directions Publishing
2002 Spanish novels Novels about writers Editorial Anagrama books Novels by Enrique Vila-Matas