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Enrique Vila-Matas

エンリケ・ビラ＝マタス

Enrique Vila-Matas

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1948-03-31 （Barcelona, Spain）
Nationality
Spain
Languages
Spanish, Catalan
Residence History
Barcelona, Spain → Paris, France → Melilla, Spain (North Africa)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Essayist, Film critic, Editor
Active Years
1968-
Affiliations
Order of Finnegans (founding member)
Memberships
Order of Finnegans (founding member)
Influenced By
James Joyce, Marguerite Duras, Julio Cortázar, Adolfo Bioy Casares
Influenced
Contemporary metafiction writers, Younger novelists in the Spanish-speaking world

Education

—
Law and Journalism (institution unspecified)
Reported to have studied law and journalism in his youth; specific institution and dates not confirmed.

Awards

Rómulo Gallegos Prize
2001
Organization: Rómulo Gallegos Foundation
Result: 受賞
Premio Formentor de las Letras
2014
Organization: Formentor Prize / Formentor Literary Foundation
Result: 受賞
FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages
2015
Organization: Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL)
Result: 受賞
Premio Gregor von Rezzori
2012
Work: Italian translation of Exploradores del abismo
Organization: Premio Gregor von Rezzori (Italy)
Result: 受賞
Elsa Morante Prize (Scrittori del Mondo)
2007
Category: Scrittori del Mondo
Organization: Internazionale (organizer)
Result: 受賞
Legion of Honour (Knight)
Organization: French Government
Result: 叙勲
National Award of Catalonia
2016
Organization: Government of Catalonia
Result: 受賞
Internazionale Ennio Flaiano Prize
2006
Organization: Internazionale (Italy)
Result: 受賞
Prix Médicis étranger
2003
Organization: Prix Médicis (France)
Result: 受賞
Honorary doctorate
Organization: University of the Andes, Venezuela
Result: 授与

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Bartleby & Co.

2000 Metafiction

A metafictional exploration of writers, readers and the pathologies of writing, using documentary references and self-reflective narration to examine the act of writing itself.

writingauthorial identitymetafiction
Translations
  • Bartleby & Co. (English translation)

Never Any End to Paris

2003 Memoiristic essay/novel

A book that interweaves memories of time in Paris with reading experiences; a blend of personal recollection and literary essay.

memoryreadingParis experience
Translations
  • Never Any End to Paris (English translation)

Dublinesque

2010 Metafiction

A novel about a publisher in crisis that, through references to Joyce and Dublin, examines the relationship between literature and publishing.

publishingliterary historyhomage to Joyce
Translations
  • Dublinesque (English translation)

Mac and His Problem

2017 Experimental novel / Metafiction

Considered a major metafictional work; its English translation received international recognition and was longlisted for the 2020 International Booker Prize.

identityliterary experimentationself-reference
Translations
  • Mac and His Problem (English translation)

Montevideo

2022 Metafiction

A metafiction reflecting on writing and interconnected hotel rooms, with intersecting narratives.

hotelswritingintersecting narratives
Translations
  • Montevideo (English translation)

Bibliography

  • Mujer en el espejo contemplando el paisaje (1973)
  • La asesina ilustrada (1977)
  • Impostura (1984)
  • A Brief History of Portable Literature (1985)
  • Bartleby & Co. (2000)
  • Montano's Malady (2002)
  • Never Any End to Paris (2003)
  • Doctor Pasavento (2005)
  • Dublinesque (2010)
  • Mac and His Problem (2017)
  • Montevideo (2022)

Translations of Works

  • A Brief History of Portable Literature (English translation)
  • Bartleby & Co. (English translation)
  • Montano's Malady (English translation)
  • Never Any End to Paris (English translation)
  • Dublinesque (English translation)
  • The Illogic of Kassel (English translation)
  • Mac and His Problem (English translation)
  • Montevideo (English translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
metafictionblend of essay and fictionself-referential, witty narrationfragmentary, essayistic prose (narrated thought)
Recurring Motifs
pathologies of writingabsence/disappearance of the authorlibraries, books, and publishingtravel and cities (especially Paris and Dublin)hotel rooms

Legacy

A prominent Spanish-language writer celebrated for blending metafiction and essayistic prose. Winner of multiple major literary awards, widely translated, and frequently listed among speculative candidates for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Academic Societies

  • Order of Finnegans (founding member)

In Popular Culture

  • Frequent media mentions as a possible Nobel Prize in Literature candidate
  • Metafictional experiments cited in literary criticism and academic studies

Quotes

  • He has described his style as 'narrated thought.'
    Source: Interviews (e.g. The Paris Review) (2011)

Trivia

  • Published his first novel in 1973 written as a single uninterrupted sentence.
  • Lived in a garret rented from Marguerite Duras between 1974 and 1976.
  • Is a founding Knight of the Order of Finnegans.
  • Works have been translated into over 30 languages.