Francisco Nicolás Alacid returns to the story with ‘Cena de gatos’, two parts full of deceit, betrayal and unexpected twists starring ‘Lucy’ and ‘Zíran’
Cats are not always different from humans. Or if? They also invite us to their dinner. With this question in the air, the Murcian novelist Francisco Nicolás Alacid takes us to his country, which returns to the privileges of literature with an impressive novel, “full of unexpected twists, peculiar characters, family secrets, deceit and betrayal, in the one that nothing or no one is what they really seem» ‘Cena de gatos’ (Europa Ediciones, 2022), two volumes totaling more than 1,200 pages, is the title to which he has devoted more than three and a half years of his life to writing. is not the first time he has achieved such a feat, as he previously gave readers some newspapers about the Camino de Santiago, under the title ‘El caminante y su sombra’, two editions of which appeared in 2012 and a third in 2020, coinciding with the release of the third part Another novel of his, ‘The Hungarian Puzzle’ (2016), set in Budapest and Debrecen, “had a great impact.”
Alacid, an experienced athlete – he has his second home on the tennis courts and in the mountains – put ‘Cena de gatos’ in Madrid, near the Plaza Mayor and the Arco de Cuchilleros, at the end of the 90s, «when the cats were not as common as pets.” Basically it was a short story, with the same title, though it was never published. “After a few years I reread it and thought I could dig a little deeper. I’ve gone from three pages to more than 1,200,” he puts his hands on his head. “Because I really enjoy the stories and get lost in them.” The protagonist of this plot, Hugo, a young man who is independent belongs to his family, conflicts in his relationships – especially with his father -, receives an inheritance after his father’s death. “It is a curious inheritance. Because he leaves the house where his father lived, who went there and here to trying to survive, and when he goes to the notary, who also has a of the protagonists, it turns out that his father not only leaves him the house and all his belongings, because he is an only child, and makes it a condition that he takes care of his cats, ‘Lucy’ and ‘Zíran’, and that he takes care of certain aspects of the neighbourhood. That’s how the story begins. Surprised because he is suddenly forced to take responsibility and take care of the cats.
What happens in that house so that Alacid has provoked that voraciousness as a prose writer? “Since having cats was not so common, the protagonists are still people with their own circumstances and intrigues. They all take action and in the end the novel arouses great curiosity.”
Do we know how to relate to them? The author admits that he always had a lot of respect for them, “but after that I started to get a little closer.” From his home in the Infante district, he walks many mornings to the sanctuary of La Fuensanta, where there are places that he already controls and where there is a significant concentration of cats. “That also helped me learn from them.”
“There are people who get up very early and bring food. Just like with humans, they are no longer so elusive when introduced to a stranger. I brought them biscuits, bits of mortadella ». When the novel was finished and delivered to the publisher, “one day I came to the same place and I arrived there and there are areas of much darkness, especially in the area of the Teatinos intersection. I always had a flashlight with me, although I was already used to the dark. But that day, when I came to the dark path, I heard a cat meow, but I saw nothing. I thought he was going back, but I kept walking and listened to him from a distance. I asked him to leave, but he followed me, never stopping meowing. I arrived at the Hermitage of La Luz and he followed me. I got to the El Valle raft, and there it was. As I got closer, he lay down so I could caress him. I thought it would be a premonition. Around the corner, always on time, there is a man from Santo Ángel who comes out with two dogs and a transistor at full volume, and I thought about whoever would get involved. But the cat disappeared in time. I had never been followed by a cat for so long.
Source: La Verdad
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