Literature is a journey to nowhere. Philosophically speaking, perhaps literature is like Aristotle’s pursuit of perfection; Here, the end is not important, the path we follow to reach it is important. I have always believed in this, because for me books are the way to a model of happiness, the vehicles that lead us to it. However, these objects survive thanks to some places that can be declared temples, stories, anecdotes, and places of worship full of life. Bookstores don’t cease to have a beaten spirit with every visit, every bookstore and of course every book that enters and is cataloged. Those of us who love books, literature, and everything that comes with it, use bookstores as shelters. It is where the fire always burns.
Elsewhere, there is an outstanding book by Rosa Cuadrado, published by the Leonese publishing house Ediciones Menguantes. Not a typical travel guide, but more. Rosa blends literature, oral tradition and a distinctive travel guide. Its bookstores take us into the heart of ancient Europe through the places of worship I mentioned earlier. If there’s anything surprising about Rosa, it’s her high cultural level. The genius of his literature is that he knows how to fluently put together high literature without being pedantic, and this is very difficult to achieve. Cuadrado not only writes literature, but also infects us with his enthusiasm. The book is divided into ten chapters corresponding to ten cities: Paris, Brussels, Lisbon, Vienna, London, Dublin, Milan, Ankara, Istanbul and Athens. Through them, he immerses us in stories, big or small, of those temples of wisdom that time has stamped on its walls.
Rosa Cuadrado, whose poetic work is always remarkable, plunges us into a simple yet complex prose that works like a Swiss watch. I’d be lying if I said that your article surprised me. Perhaps she hoped that a great storyteller might emerge in her poetics. Rosa has a tremendous talent for storytelling, a great atmosphere creator, she takes the reader in and takes you wherever she wants. Although the narration seems to follow a pattern and appear irregular and spontaneous, it is a completely false sensation. There is a lot of work in this book. Rosa doesn’t leave anything to improvise, her literature is like ikea screws, if you have too much it’s because you didn’t do the job well.
Elsewhere, as I have said, he is a literary genius. All of Rosa’s passion is contained in this book. There is jazz, there is travel, there is a love of art, and in addition, there is literature. It is exciting to watch Rosa describe anecdotes, situations, sensations, landscapes through books. It’s like traveling with him and seeing through his eyes. Being the first narrative work to be published, this mentions Rosa is an important part of it. She is so full of life that she transmits that vitality to us and makes us a part of it.
Rosa Cuadrado has constructed a fictionalized essay that could also be an analysis of how we Europeans confront culture that is still life. And it is not in vain that it is the culture that defines people, or how they relate it to everyday life. Bookstores witness these rites of passage, and Rosa is the notary public. We are before the consecration of a narrative voice that has much to tell. Here we are waiting for that sound.