The creativity of José Luis Perales seems to have no limits. If as a composer he has supplied great songs to all kinds of singers in Spanish, in addition to his own interpretations, his leap into literature makes him that factotum. A guy capable of tackling any task that requires him to have some of the most complex virtues, the right creativity and a powerful imagination to develop it all.
It will be a matter of looking for new scenarios where to pour out those artistic concerns that assail restless spirits. The point is that approaching the writer Perales supposes an absolute rediscovery. His narrative comes to us with a similar point intimist who already wrote down their lyrics for great songs. But the fullest scenery of the novel unfolds all those ramifications that can only be sensed in a song.
Souls that pass through that evolution of existence that exposes us, with its improvised melody, to happiness or drama in choruses that are repeated irregularly. A great discovery without a doubt.
Top 3 recommended novels by José Luis Perales
the potter's daughter
The jump to the prose of José Luis Perales is an adventure that is bearing fruit. In this The Potter's Daughter book, second novel already after The melody of time we enter a vital melody, in the discordant symphony of characters that move between their will, destiny, their principles, their desires, guilt and regrets.
Brígida and Justino have two children: Carlos and Francisca. His life passes with the lightness of time in a small town in La Mancha. In this family nucleus jumps the classic paradox about what is paradise for some and what others can consider hell. In the end we are a difficult balance between what we have and what we do not have, and sometimes what we lack ends up weighing more than the surrounding reality.
Francisca ends up rebelling with that life that slowly drips the seconds but seems to be devouring the years. In the end he escapes from his home to carve out that future yearned for by every young and restless soul.
There is some poetic justice in parents who see their children stamped against reality, when they have been previously warned. But there is also a part of sadness to see the unhappiness of those who are prevented from flying free.
Family, children, destiny and that fine red thread (reference to Sonoko's Garden book) that gets tangled and tangled until you can undo the mess yourself and move on.
For parents there always comes a time when the discovery of the destiny of their children as something completely alien can be traumatic. The red thread of a son is moving away, undoing the woven and looking for something new to weave. Life then becomes strained, heartbreaking at times. Letting a child take, letting new paths take, is part of life but not of the parents' reason.
the melody of time
The first novel by José Luis Perales tells the story of a Castilian people over three generations. A tribute to country life through a choral novel about love, roots and relationships between parents and children.
El Castro is a traditional Castilian town that, for a long time, has resisted falling into oblivion. The inhabitants have dreamed, lived and loved along its dirt streets, in the shade of ancient elm trees, in front of the old church of San Nicolás or in the high viewpoint that overlooks the river. But, although the years go by and the oldest in the place see how their descendants abandon the houses that saw them born, there is always someone who returns to face nostalgia and remember each of their stories. As the first love of Evaristo Salinas, the deaf-mute watchmaker; or the long journey of Victorino Cabañas in a hot air balloon; or Claudio Pedraza's passion cut short by the outbreak of war; or the legendary beauty of the gypsy Gíngara and her local excavated in a cave…
Stories that are also the story of the XNUMXth century in Spain with El Castro as the witness and main character of a book that will reach the hearts of readers.
The other side of the world
The autobiographical always leads us into suggestive visions of the world, into that kind of accident that makes us empathize. In the case of this work by Perales, the curiosity to visit his time takes on another dimension.
The most autobiographical novel by José Luis Perales arrives. An emotional and tender story in which the singer and writer delves through fiction into his childhood, his training, his wishes and the beginning of his passion for music.
Marcelo is a seven-year-old boy restless as a lizard's tail. What he likes most in the world is spending the summer with his grandparents, José and Valentina, in the town: El Castro. Together they go for walks along the river, fish, play and chat a little about everything. In his conversations, the grandfather tells his grandson stories about his family and what El Castro was like when he was born.
Through them, José will recount his childhood, the sudden departure from the town at the age of fourteen, the difficult stay in a boarding school and the discovery of music, which got him through the most complicated moments of his adolescence and gave him a goal in life. life: being a composer, singer and fulfilling the dream of recording his first album.
