Manuel Vilas Returns with a Lost Romance and a Nadal Award Power Surge
Ordesa marked a turning point in the author’s career. The year 2023 brought a renewed spotlight as Vilas welcomed new acclaim and readied a northern Spanish literary event that traveled to Alicante for a Maestral Literary Evening. The night promised conversation, memory, and a deep dive into love as a driving force in fiction.
love again…
Love remains a central thread in Vilas’s thinking. It is a fundamental element of human identity and of storytelling, a mystery that continues to invite exploration. The writer notes that subjects do not choose themselves; life presents obsessions that shape a work. In Vilas’s view, two forces—love and death—steer every life and every narrative, each influencing how one is lived and told.
Do readers identify with a romance novel? The writer suggests yes, because readers are inherently voyeuristic. Romance exposes intimate moments, fantasies, and desires that resonate with readers’ own experiences. Love, loneliness, and the effort to build a life with another person are universal themes. People seek a sense of us—plural bonds, couples, families, or a circle of friends—and the appeal of a shared human story remains strong.
“If there is no pleasure in love, there is nothing. But pleasure is not seen in society”
The discussion turns to a character’s experience of pleasure within a romance. Vilas argues that pleasure can be a path to life’s mysteries, a discovery that Irene makes as she assesses love. Society often neglects the joyous aspects of relationship, prioritizing loyalty, trust, and practical considerations. The idea of pleasure tends to be unwelcome in established norms, yet couples may separate when pleasure fades across different possibilities. This tension remains a provocative, unspoken facet of modern love.
To address this topic, Vilas centers a female protagonist. The choice reflects a literary challenge and a broader tradition of exploring the female psyche through great writers who illuminate how women think and feel. Both female and male writers can craft authentic, nuanced perspectives when portraying intimate life.
We see a dedication to the idea that a couple’s life can be a form of storytelling. The passage explores whether the shared world collapses when a partner dies and how one might navigate a reality suddenly changed. The novel is described as a literary fantasy that questions the notion of a perfect love, revealing how life can diverge from idealization and how readers respond when expectations are unsettled.
“We need us, we need to build a plural, a couple, a family, a group of friends.”
When loss becomes overwhelming, the question arises: can life continue if love changes form? Irene’s path involves exploring new connections as she navigates grief. The author argues that readers seek truth in literature and cinema because these works can illuminate feeling more honestly than public discourse or political rhetoric. The result is a perception of life that is direct and candid, not polished or contrived.
Images of a couple’s life—its shared rituals and daily intimacies—are placed under a microscope. The narrative asks whether the commitment to a relationship can survive the shock of death and whether people are ready to confront such a reality with honesty. The author notes that there is a moment when literature becomes a mirror, inviting readers to reflect on their own pasts and relationships.
Love often reveals the best and worst in people. For Vilas, the life of a young person can become a crucible of drama, where mental health and emotional management are critical. The author contends that education around emotions and coping mechanisms is essential, noting how society frequently overlooks the skills needed to navigate disappointment and loss. He sees a need to address such topics in schools to foster healthier approaches to death and grief, while challenging lingering machismo and secrecy around feelings.
Autobiographical threads appear in his work, though not always in a direct way. In this novel, the emphasis rests on Irene’s experiences rather than a strict reflection of the author’s life, using symbolic motifs and careful observation to illuminate character and motive.
Regarding recognition, Vilas acknowledges that winning the Nadal Award brings happiness and responsibility. The real triumph lies in engaging readers across the book’s 320 pages, holding their attention from opening line to final sentence. The journey of a novel is measured by readers who stay with it, and that staying power defines success for a writer who remains dedicated to the craft.
“A lot of people believe their relationship as a couple is perfect because they want to believe it, it’s like a belief”
The author comments on why titles like Ordesa, Sevinc, and We carry a singular word. A brief, emblematic word can become a talisman, a modest signpost for the reader. Short titles can be easier to recall, offering humility and courtesy as a sentiment toward the audience.
Has the author thought about the next project? While the creative process is ongoing, the path remains open and exploratory. The Maestral Literary Evenings experience is celebrated for its warm, communal atmosphere—where gastronomy and literature converge. The aim is simple: good food, good wine, and a compelling novel, sharing life’s small, bright moments with friends and readers alike.
Manuel Vilas’s presence at Maestral Literary Evenings continues to be a highlight, bringing a sense of companionship to the literary world and inviting audiences across cultures to savor the shared pleasures of storytelling.
— End of interview excerpt —