Best 2011 books by El País

[Daniel del Real]

According to Spanish newspaper El País and its weekly literary magazine Babelia, here are the top ten books published in Spanish language in 2011.

1-Los Enamoramientos, de Javier Marías (Alfaguara) Novela

2- Freedom, de Jonathan Franzen (Salamandra) Novela
3- Némesis,de Philip Roth (Mondadori) Novela
4- El mapa y el territorio, de Michel Houellebecq (Anagrama) Novela
5- El ruido de las cosas al caer, de Juan Gabriel Vásquez (Alfaguara) Novela
6- Caligrafía de los sueños, de Juan Marsé (Lumen) Novela
7- La obsolescencia del hombre, de Günther Anders (Pre-Textos) Ensayo
8- Historia de la literatura española 7. Derrota y restitución de la modernidad (1939-2010), de Jordi Gracia y José Domingo Ródenas. Coordinación de José-Carlos Mainer (Crítica) ensayo
9- La gruta de las palabras, de Vladimir Holan (Galaxia Gutenberg/Círculo de Lectores) Poesía
10-Deshielo a mediodía, de Tomas Tranströmer (Nórdica Libros) Poesía

Haven't read the Marías novel, but it has caused a lot of fuss in the media in the recent year. I probably need to dip into it soon.

[Caodang]

Maybe I'll try the Marias novel, the premise seems quite promising

[Daniel del Real]

Yeah, it's tempting, although I don't think I'll read something better from him than Corazón tan Blanco/A Heart so White. I had all my expectations in Mañana en la Batalla Piensa en Mí and it disappointed me.

[Eric]

My only complaint about the El País list is that it is not very adventurous, being very mainstream-conformist. Welbeck is a provocateur (as I am being by spelling his name "normally"), Tranströmer won the Nobel. Then there's Roth, who was no doubt in the running for the Nobel, and several people writing in Spanish. Maybe Holan is the only slightly surprising name. Plus essayist Günther Anders, a name I do not know at all.

Having said that, the Babelia section of El País is a good, serious supplement to the paper.

[Daniel del Real]

My only complaint about the El País list is that it is not very adventurous, being very mainstream-conformist. Welbeck is a provocateur (as I am being by spelling his name "normally"), Tranströmer won the Nobel. Then there's Roth, who was no doubt in the running for the Nobel, and several people writing in Spanish. Maybe Holan is the only slightly surprising name. Plus essayist Günther Anders, a name I do not know at all.

Having said that, the Babelia section of El País is a good, serious supplement to the paper.

and Juan Gabriel Vásquez won the Premio Alfaguara de Novela this year, plus Juan Marsé is a very serious and respected establishment figure. You're right, it is very straightforward, which is strange after what they did to obtain this list: They asked 40 of their collaborators to make a top ten list, giving ten points to the first place and 1 to the last. Finally they added all together and came with the final list. Disappointing to see that 40 people with a good level of literature degree have to end in such a common place.

[Stiffelio]

I just wonder how many of those 40 reviewers were somehow "guided" toward their choices. Let's not forget that El País belongs to the super media conglomerate PRISA, which happens to own the Santillana publishing group (Alfaguara, Salamandra,Taurus, Punto de Lectura, etc). They might have named a couple of Tusquets and Anagrama books as well so as not to be very obvious.

[Daniel del Real]

I just wonder how many of those 40 reviewers were somehow "guided" toward their choices. Let's not forget that El País belongs to the super media conglomerate PRISA, which happens to own the Santillana publishing group (Alfaguara, Salamandra,Taurus, Punto de Lectura, etc). They might have named a couple of Tusquets and Anagrama books as well so as not to be very obvious.

Really? I had no idea. They are very serious within their analysis but probably what you say is right, they felt obliged to chose one or two titles from the house.