Just as there are movies that should not be made, there are also books that should not be written. I say this not because of the quality of the work, but because it is a pain I wish didn’t exist. The death of a son or daughter is the most unnatural pain a person can face. Under no circumstances should parents outlive a child. The pain caused by such a situation is so great that no sane person can bear it. When this happens, things break, the heart gets injured, I don’t know if the scars are noticeable, but a parent’s look will never be the same. I will never be a father, but I have witnessed a few events. Appearances lose their luster. The eyes turn into deep tunnels opening to the soul.
The Purple Hour, published by Sergio del Molino’s Alfaguara publishing house, is a real coup. We can say that we are faced with one of the most fragmented, deepest and most intense works of mourning literature. According to Threshold, Mortal y rosa would be on par, but The Violet Hour has something special. In this book, Sergio not only shows pain in its purest form, but also tries to find answers or give them to others. The joke writer from Zaragoza takes us to universality in his literature, because pain does not understand nationalities, it is something as universal as life itself.
The work is full of life despite the pain it radiates. Sergio calls his son Pablo with all the intentionality in the world because, on the one hand, it honors him and, on the other, it gives him the status of a human being. Sometimes we dehumanize patients because of disease, but Del Molino gives this the dimension it deserves. In Purple Hour, the author tries to find the meanings of words. Language is very important in pain, it is a way of finding the cause of events. When we name something we do so with full intention. Words can be a balm, but they can also be a dagger straight to the heart. Sergio tells us that there is an expression that does not exist in Spanish. Children who lose their parents are orphans, but what do you call parents who lose their children? There are no words to describe that pain as if it didn’t exist. It’s as if that anomaly hadn’t appeared. The violet hour is actually a search for this, a search for how to name this failure, that pain that every father or mother fears and ignores just in case.
Alfaguara was able to republish this work. When I first read this book I was lost for a week. Despite all this pain, I couldn’t find my way. In my opinion, Sergio wrote the most brilliant work of mourning literature. I’m not saying that Mortal y rosa is a small work, but Del Molino adds a dimension that fascinates the reader and makes him suffer at the same time as the author. I probably empathize from recent experience. I witnessed those dull looks, pain in its purest form, the search for terms, the origin of names. The purple hour is the door to an abyss that no one wants to look at. If we had to describe this book in one word, it would be courage. Because a father who faces such a big monster is brave. What Sergio is going through is not humane, and neither is Pablo’s mother Cristina. This study is a cry and a speaker for parents who have experienced the same things. A weathered heart in the shape of a book.