by Felipe Alfau
First published 1995
Salvador embarks on his legendary exploits while the Vain Prince pursues his ambitions across the Spanish countryside. These heroes join Urrucho, Rolando, and Juanin in ten stories drawn from the folklore of Levante, Castilla, and the Basque Country. Each tale springs from legends once shared by firelight, now shaped by the homesick memory of someone living far from Spain. The characters navigate adventures that blend the familiar and the fantastical, their deeds rendered with vivid, sculptural detail. Written for American audiences in the 1930s, these stories transform a distant homeland into something both magical and imagined. The tension between memory and reality runs through each narrative, as nostalgia reshapes traditional tales into something new. At their heart, these stories capture the ache of distance and the power of storytelling to recreate what has been lost.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, folklore
Vibes: atmospheric, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: magical-realism, nostalgia
Setting: Basque Country, Castilla, Levante, Spain
Period: 1930s
Paperback · Siruela