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Juan Marsé

フアン・マルセ

Juan Marsé

Aliases: Juan Faneca Roca
Pen Names: Juan Marsé（Commonly used pen name as an author）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1933-01-08 （Barcelona, Spain）
Died
2020-07-18 （Barcelona, Spain） age 87
Nationality
Spain
Languages
Spanish, Catalan

Career

Occupations
novelist, journalist, screenwriter
Active Years
1958-2020
Influenced By
Generation of '50

Education

—
Did not complete formal higher education; worked as a jewelry apprentice and began working early.

Awards

Cervantes Prize
2008
Organization: Institutions awarding the Cervantes Prize
Result: Winner
Premio Planeta
1978
Work: La muchacha de las bragas de oro (Girl with the Golden Panties)
Organization: Editorial Planeta
Result: Winner
Premio Biblioteca Breve
1965
Work: Últimas tardes con Teresa (Last Evenings with Teresa)
Organization: Seix Barral
Result: Winner
Juan Rulfo Prize for Latin American and Caribbean Literature
1997
Organization: Institutions awarding Juan Rulfo Prize
Result: Winner
Critics Prize (Premio de la Crítica)
1993
Work: El embrujo de Shanghai (The Shanghai Spell)
Result: Winner
Aristeion Prize
1993
Work: El embrujo de Shanghai (The Shanghai Spell)
Result: Winner
Ateneo de Sevilla Prize
1990
Work: El amante bilingüe (The Bilingual Lover)
Result: Winner
Critics Prize (Premio de la Crítica)
2000
Work: Rabos de lagartija (Lizards' Tails)
Result: Winner
National Prize for Narrative
2000
Work: Rabos de lagartija (Lizards' Tails)
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Encerrados con un solo juguete

1960 Novel

An early novel set against late 1950s–early 1960s social contexts.

social transitionurban life

Esta cara de la luna

1962 Novel

A work later repudiated by the author and excluded from his complete works.

self-reflectionyouth conflict

Últimas tardes con Teresa

1966 Novel

Depicts social conflicts in Barcelona; one of his representative works and winner of the Biblioteca Breve prize.

class differenceurban society
Adaptations
  • [Film] Last Evenings with Teresa / Gonzalo Herralde (1984)

La muchacha de las bragas de oro

1978 Novel

Won the Premio Planeta in 1978 and brought the author widespread public recognition.

desirememoryurban transformation
Adaptations
  • [Film] Girl with the Golden Panties / Vicente Aranda (1980)

Si te dicen que caí

1973 Novel

Inspired by the murder of Carmen Broto; published in Mexico due to censorship in Francoist Spain.

violencecensorshiphistory and fiction
Adaptations
  • [Film] If you say that I fell / Vicente Aranda (1989)

El embrujo de Shanghai

1993 Novel

One of his major 1990s works; won the Critics Prize and the Aristeion Prize.

fantasymemorylayers of history
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Shanghai Spell / Fernando Trueba (2002)

Rabos de lagartija

2000 Novel

Published after seven years of silence; winner of the Critics Prize and the National Prize for Narrative.

memoryshadows of the past

Caligrafía de los sueños

2011 Novel

A late-career novel; the English translation 'The Calligraphy of Dreams' was published in 2014.

dreamsmemoryimagination vs. reality
Translations
  • English translation 'The Calligraphy of Dreams' (MacLehose Press, 2014)

Bibliography

  • Encerrados con un solo juguete (1960)
  • Esta cara de la luna (1962)
  • Últimas tardes con Teresa (1966)
  • La oscura historia de la prima Montse (1970)
  • Si te dicen que caí (1973)
  • La muchacha de las bragas de oro (1978)
  • Un día volveré (1982)
  • Ronda del Guinardó (1984)
  • Teniente Bravo (short stories, 1987)
  • El amante bilingüe (1990)
  • El embrujo de Shanghai (1993)
  • Rabos de lagartija (2000)
  • Canciones de amor en Lolita's Club (2005)
  • Caligrafía de los sueños (2011)
  • Noticias felices en aviones de papel (2014)
  • Esa puta tan distinguida (2016)
  • Viaje al sur (2020, posthumous)

Adaptations

  • The Dark History of Cousin Montse - film (Jordi Cadena, 1977)
  • La muchacha de las bragas de oro - film (Vicente Aranda, 1980)
  • Últimas tardes con Teresa - film (Gonzalo Herralde, 1984)
  • Si te dicen que caí - film (Vicente Aranda, 1989)
  • El amante bilingüe - film (Vicente Aranda, 1993)
  • Ronda del Guinardó → Domenica - film (Wilma Labate, 2001)
  • El embrujo de Shanghai - film (Fernando Trueba, 2002)
  • Canciones de amor en Lolita's Club - film (Vicente Aranda, 2007)

Translations of Works

  • The Calligraphy of Dreams (English translation, MacLehose Press, 2014)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
social realismsatirical, witty narrationurban fiction
Recurring Motifs
post-war Barcelonamemory and forgettingidentity

Legacy

Juan Marsé is one of the major Spanish-language novelists, celebrated for his depictions of post-war Barcelona and themes of censorship, memory and urban change. He won the Cervantes Prize in 2008 and enjoyed international recognition.

In Popular Culture

  • Multiple works have been adapted for film and his Barcelona settings are featured in guided literary tours.

Trivia

  • Born Juan Faneca Roca and later adopted by the Marsé family, known as Juan Marsé Carbó.
  • Began literary career in 1958; first novel published in 1960.
  • Some works were published abroad due to censorship under Franco (e.g. Si te dicen que caí).
  • Won the Cervantes Prize in 2008.
  • Died in Barcelona on 18 July 2020, aged 87.