Jon Bilbao again proves his prowess as a master storyteller
Jon Bilbao, born in Ribadesella in 1972, has long established himself as a formidable voice in contemporary narration. His work seamlessly blends the novel and the short story, challenging tradition while drawing deeply from it. In Spain and beyond, Bilbao holds a privileged place among today’s narrators for his willingness to question classic forms without abandoning the roots of heritage and the potential of genre fiction in Western settings.
The new release Araña, published by Impedimenta, marks a decisive advancement in Bilbao’s career. With growing precision and assertiveness in his explorations, the Asturian writer continues the throughline first seen in Basilisk. He revisits the life and oscillations of a character similar to John Dunbar, a choice that opens a hinge between different times and spaces. In Araña, the interplay between distant yet meaningful moments shapes the destinies of its figures, including both the creator himself and a younger version of the author in the narrative arc. Bilbao emerges as both writer and keen observer of adult eccentricities as he develops on the page.
In a novel where landscape and nature assume a Bilbao-like prominence, the word itself and the act of telling become an ecosystem. An event within the adventures drives the narrative forward, beginning when Dunbar encounters a weighty author who makes his living by inventing gunman tales. This figure, Bramble, is willing to push the limits until the bargain is broken, setting the stakes high and the tension taut.
There is a meditation on literature within literature, a nod to Don Quixote and an homage to classic pulp traditions that once filled the shelves of readers who loved Silver Kane and similar legends. At this crossroads of impossibilities, Bilbao’s voice gains its own singularity, a rift that mirrors the tension between Conan and Verne, between myth and inquiry. Dunbar reads as a wandering adventurer with a Marlowe like existential restlessness, not a conventional hero or a cowboy of the Far West. When exploring Dunbar’s motives, a comic strip character often comes to mind, the enigmatic Corto Maltese by Hugo Pratt. This may sound bold to some readers, yet it aligns with Bilbao’s fascination with solitude and the human drive to seek meaning on the road. At one point in the narrative, Dunbar is told that he is a man free of moral sanctions, a line that resonates with many readers who relish blunt honesty in fiction.
Araña presents a novel woven from many stories, where nearly every character has a voice that aims to stand out and justify existence. Bilbao does not shy away from topics that feel timely, including the dynamics between parents and children, the complexities of couple relationships, and acts of religious deception. The prose gathers momentum, expanding possibilities for readers while never allowing any single thread to dominate entirely. The work also introduces the figure behind the book’s title, a presence both unsettling and energizing. The stories interconnect and unfold toward a final convergence, leaving a sense of breathless momentum as the storyteller probes his own limits and invites readers to interrogate the narrative along with him.
The result is a panoramic vigil of storytelling, where the act of narration itself becomes a living world. Araña is a testament to Bilbao’s ongoing curiosity, his capacity to blend homage with innovation, and his gift for turning ordinary moments into meaningful revelations for a wide audience.
Jon Bilbao Arana Engel 416 pages / 22 Euros