I love movies, ever since I was a kid. Or
that was what I thought. Later I discovered literature with lots of new and
great stories. Then, music came into my life. Today, I know that I don’t really
care about the way; what I really love is the story, the characters, the
feelings, the ideas. I have a lot of stories in my mind and writing them is the
easiest way to share them.
I was born in 1978. I grew up in the VHS,
MTV and Spectrum days. Perhaps Balzac, Miguel de Unamuno or Steinbeck had
literature as their only reference. But my generation has been influenced by
thousands of stories in so many different ways, from books and movies to comics
and video games. All that affects me when I write, and I think that is great.
Combining all these influences provides a richness to the work. And that’s both
good and necessary, because the new generations are even more multi disciplined
than us. Language, aesthetics and styles must evolve.
Writers are usually divided in their views
on this topic. The classics, or purists, say that literature should stay clear
of the influences from other media; literature has its own style and its
resources, and using techniques of film language or comic books only
impoverishes the novel.
The multi disciplined, on the other hand,
argues that the origin of literature is storytelling. Perhaps over the years
writers have experimented, in search of new narrative techniques, but the
ultimate goal of a novel has always been to tell a story. Why shouldn’t we use
all resources and references available, to help the reader believe the story
and create more pleasure?
Some readers and journalists have told me,
“When I read your novel I was completely immersed in the story. I could almost
see every detail you described. It was like watching a movie.” Some writers I
know find those comments almost offensive, and disrespectful to their work. In
my case, it is the best compliment I can get.
That’s why I’m not sure if I write movies
or film novels. But, “Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn”, because I only
care about the storytelling.
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Lethal
as a Charlie Parker Solo, out now from 280 Steps,
is a noir novel about a problem solver in 1950s Las Vegas, combining real
history and fiction. Javier Márquez Sánchez (born 1978 in Seville, Spain) is
Editor in Chief of the Spanish edition of Forbes. He has been Editor in Chief
of the Spanish edition of Esquire Magazine and Deputy Director of Cambio16, and
has written several novels, short stories collections and non-fiction books on
film and music. Sometimes he plays music with his two bands, Rock & Books
and The Last Drink. Lethal as a Charlie
Parker Solo is his first novel being translated into English.
Connect with Javier at the following:
Twitter:
@JavierMarquezSa
