Not Even the Dead (2023) by Juan Gomez Barcena

 Book Review

Not Even the Dead (2023)

by Juan Gomez Barcena

   I checked Not Even the Dead out from the library (digital version) because of this lede from the New York Times book review:

             We’ll never know what the late Cormac McCarthy might have thought of Juan Gómez Bárcena’s “Not Even the Dead,” but I wager that the novel would have appealed to him, and also to Roberto Bolaño and Joseph Conrad, if for no reason other than their egos. Each of them would have seen strong evidence of their influence on Bárcena, whose previous work — a story collection and a prizewinning novel, “The Sky Over Lima” — has already established him as a leading writer in Spain. His latest book, splendidly translated by Katie Whittemore, only adds to his standing, thanks to its successful blend of ambitious literary dynamism with contemporary social and political commentary.  (New York Times)

   I'm not sure any human on earth could read Not Even the Dead and not have McCarthy and Bolaño at the top of their mind.  Conrad, yeah, sure, but def McCarthy and Bolano.  The McCarthy comparison is interesting because I've yet to come across a Spanish language writer who was anything but ornate and verbos.  Right now I'm thinking of Bolano, of course, but also Javier Marias- who wrote spy novels that read like Proust.   

  There is lots going on in Not Even the Dead, that same New York Times review calls it a "transhistorical" epic- which I didn't even notice at the time, but now realize is important to understanding the book.   I was hoping, I suppose, for less Bolano and more McCarthy, but the book moves in the opposite direction- the first 100 pages are McCarthy plus, and the last two hundred are Bolano minus- that's just my opinion.  Still worth reading if you are a reader of the McCarthy/Bolano/Conrad school of adventure literature.