The collection of short stories ‘The hand of the dead’, presented this Friday in Cartagena Negra, is a total tribute to the western genre
In ‘The Dead Man’s Hand’ the reader will find “a tribute to the western, which has a tradition in Spain thanks to authors such as Marcial Lafuente Estefanía”, says Antonio Parra Sanz, one of the seven writers, along with Víctor Mirete, Alfonso Gutiérrez, Jesús Boluda, Pilar Fernández, Cristóbal Terrer and Paco Rabadán – all contributors to the literature blog ‘El Quinto Libro’ – who sign this compendium of stories from publisher Círculo Rojo. A book presented this Friday, in an act led by Rosa Huertas, at the Cartagena Negra Literary Conference. This project arises from the literary heritage and above all from the love for cinema shared by the seven authors. A hobby that also had the writer Fernando Marías, who died in February, to whom they dedicate the publication.
A room where poker is played “in the middle of an American prairie” is the nexus where all stories begin or end. “This was the only condition. Otherwise, we had absolute freedom to work on the arguments,” says Parra. A “curious and fun work because we have asked ourselves many questions of the type, ‘in 1872 did this revolver already exist?’ or about terminology that we doubted was correct.We tried to be strict with the vocabulary of the time and we got support that you normally don’t have when you write alone.
From the point of view of Cristóbal Terrer, another of the authors, “The Dead Man’s Hand” has been “an opportunity to immerse yourself in a somewhat risky genre, but which may be useless from a literary point of view, although not so much in the cinema where there are current references such as Sorogoyen [‘As Bestas’] and the new Almodóvar. Now we can bring it back to literary actuality.”
The author of the story ‘Between the Woods’ makes Duncan Valentine the main character. He will be one of seven who will pass through this twisting, dark and wild West, such as Jimmy Nolan, The Boy, Reed Button, Sally Three Fingers, Jack Dollar and The Undertaker.
Despite the distance in time, the Wild West and today may have more in common than is apparent: “The West is a turbulent time. During that period, as now, there were many technological advances, including the telegraph and the railway. In addition, the dry climate can especially remind us of Murcia».
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
