Spanish / Spain
Huye sin mirar atrás
(Run away without looking back)
Leante, Luis
(text)
Barcelona: Edebé, 2016. – 220 p.
(Series: Periscopio; 94)
ISBN 978-84-683-1771-7
Father | Death | Son | Memory | Coming of age | Crime fiction
Reading age: 13+
White Ravens issue: 2016
Enrique has still not recovered from his father’s death five years ago. The loss left a real hole in him. He is an inward-turned outsider, and life with his mother is full of conflict. The situation worsens when his mother allows that low-life Héctor to live with them. Enrique’s life abruptly changes into an adventure-filled, fast-paced crime story with all the essentials: villains, drugs, police, chase scenes. The listless boy has to jump-start himself – to escape. His escape is also a coming of age and coming to terms with the past, which reconnects him with his father. Luis Leante (b. 1963) employs an unusual style for his fluidly written, dialogue-rich novel. Enrique himself tells the story, addressing his remarks to his father. This soliloquy to an absent “you” helps him accept and better understand himself.