This year was hard. Not so much about who is going to take my first place but the other two.
Very high quality writers, all of them. I truly enjoyed reading them. So here is my vote:
1) Javier Marías:
I was aleady a fan of his writing. The images he evokes and then digresses around, the multilingual puns, the reflections, the humour. Evrything about his writing hooked me. The langauge is stunning without being pretentious, the characters, even if sometimes not memorable, are vivid and well drawn.
The ammount of things one can read between the lines (granted, cultural context helps) is imense.
And then there is the artistic achievement. He introduced the campus novel in Spanish Literature, he gave a new spin to the spy story. Juggled philosophical musings, psychological interrogations, language analysis, so many different aspects that it is difficult to point out one single aspect about his writing.
2) Fleur Jaeggy:
At first, I wasn't a fan. I did not dislike her writing and I thought her writing was very well done. But I tend to dislike aesthetes, I mean those writers for whom style trumps content (this was my biggest problem with Can Xue).
However, she grew on me. I read "Sweet days of discipline" and I enjoyed it mildly until the last 50 pages. Then her writing caught fire. It became gothic, evocative, memorable. Quite a suprise.
Then, I moved on to "I am the brother of XX" and I confess that I found it very uneven. Some stories left me just... "meh". But again, some were really good and I felt that very same fire.
In the end, she became my second choice because long after reading her, I find myself still thinking about some of the images in her books, recalling certain atmospheres. For me, that is the main mark of a great writer. One that appeals to both heart and mind.
3) Gerald Murnane
Read "Tamarisk Row", "The Plains" and "Border Lands".
Again, very tough choice.
He is indeed a master. His books are imersive and evocative.
However (and I am trying not to make this post too long), he is too cerebral. I get what he is trying to do and my mind jumps in joy with some sentences, some images. Yes, my mind. not my heart.
When I put his works alongside those of Jaeggy, he stroke me as a more consistent writer... but a colder one too.
His books don't stirr my soul, so to say. If I could, I would vote him ex-aqueo with Jaeggy. But I can't, so I am afraid this is my choice.
With other candidates, I might have put him first! But not against the other writers in competition this year.
I wouldn't be upset if he won, (contrary to what would happen if, say, Can Xue had won last year) though! I would be happy!