Spanish writer (born 1971)
Jose Angel Manas
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Jamanas_ur2006.jpg/220px-Jamanas_ur2006.jpg) |
Born
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1971-10-22
)
October 22, 1971
(age 52)
Madrid
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Nationality
| Spanish
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Jose Angel Manas
(
Madrid
, 22 October 1971) is a Spanish writer. Manas is often included as a member of the generation of neorealist Spanish writers from the 1990s, along with Juan Gracia,
Gabriela Bustelo
,
Ray Loriga
and
Lucia Etxebarria
. His books have been translated into several languages.
Books
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Manas achieved popular acclaim upon the publication of his literary debut
Historias del Kronen
. The novel, a finalist for the
Premio Nadal
literary prize in 1994,
[1]
became a cult classic, particularly after the film adaptation by Spanish director Montxo Armendariz. Three novels similar in style and content followed
Historias del Kronen
:
Mensaka
(1995),
Ciudad Rayada
(1998) and
Sonko95
(1995).
Autorretrato con negro de fondo
(1999), together with
Historias del Kronen
, form the "Kronen Tetralogy" that Manas wrote about in the note at the end of
Sonoko95
, as follows:
I like to say that these four novels are punk novels or "nobelas". I was thinking at that time that "punk" ?and when I used this concept I had in mind the music of the Ramones and the example of groups like the Velvet Underground? was the best way to describe what I was trying to do in writing. I thought that it was a good comparison that helped bring out the aesthetic qualities ?speed, authenticity and rawness? that I aim for in a novel. Over time I continued exploring the possibilities of this brilliant comparison and expanding on the idea, which is turning out to be more serious and useful than I had expected. For me a "nobela" melds all of the heteroglossic elements that modern fiction either ignores or puts between quotation marks. All of this "noise" ?and by "noise" I mean anything from bastardized spellings to colloquial mistakes and any kind of slang or language that is usually avoided in literature? is what a real novelist has to turn to if he wants to revitalize and pump new blood into a genre positioned like no other to give artistic shape to living language.
Of the novels in the "Kronen Tetralogy,"
Sonko95
stands out for the appearance of some of the most prominent characteristics that would come define to Manas' later works. In this respect,
Sonko95
has a lot more to do with
Soy un escritor frustrado
, 1996, than with
Historias del Kronen
and
Mensaka
.
In fact in
Soy un escritor frustrado
, themes which are absent from Jose Angel Manas' first two novels, become permanent fixtures in
Sonko95
,
Mundo Burbuja
(2001) and
Caso Karen
(2005), in particular, his meta-literary character.
Soy un escritor frustrado
in fact describes his own writing process and he enjoys along the way reflecting on the highs and lows of success, which Manas himself has famously experienced first hand.
In
Caso Karen
, Manas rails without mercy against the modern literary scene and its most relevant institutions: authors, agents, publishing houses, prizes and conferences. Like in old
pastoral
romances, many of the characters from
Caso Karen
are depictions of real people: in "Karen del Korral" Lucia Etxebarria's personality traits are observed; "Carina Martinell" is
Carmen Balcells
; "Armando Sala" is Antonio Gala, etc. Additionally
Caso Karen
is structurally Manas most complex work.
In 2007 Manas published his first foray into historic fiction:
El secreto del Oraculo
(Ediciones Destino), based on
Alexander the Great
, was shortlisted for the 'Espartaco' prize for best historical novel.
[2]
In Jose Angel Manas' 2008 novel
La pella
, the writer has gone back to the style that made him famous, with his return to the world of realism.
His first entry outside of the fields of fiction and narrative is
Un alma en incandescencia
(2008), a book of aphorisms published by the Riojan publishing house Editorial Buscarini. The book was illustrated and inspired by the French artist Franciam Charlot.
[3]
Film Adaptations
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Historias del Kronen
was Manas' first novel
made into a movie
and the screenplay earned him the respective Goya award.
[4]
In
Montxo Armendariz
's adaptation, some of the intellectual references from the novel are missing, such as, the endless appearances of
Bret Easton Ellis
's
American Psycho
in the conversations between Carlos and Roberto.
Salvador Garcia Ruiz realized the film version of
Mensaka
, which came out in 1998. Manas' novel
Soy un escritor frustrado
was made for the big screen with the title
Imposture
, directed by Patrick Bouchitey, and premiered in 2005, the same year that
Caso Karen
was published.
Bibliography
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- 1994
Historias del Kronen
- 1995
Mensaka
- 1996
Soy un escritor frustrado
- 1998
Ciudad Rayada
- 1999
Sonko95
- 2001
Mundo Burbuja
- 2005
Caso Karen
- 2007 A series of novellas
El hombre de los 21 dedos
, in collaboration with Antonio Dominguez Leiva
- 2007
El secreto del Oraculo
- 2008
La pella
- 2008
Un alma en incandescencia. Pensando en torno a Franciam Charlot (aforismos sobre pintura)
- 2019
La ultima juerga
References
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External links
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1980s
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1990s
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2000s
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2010s
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- 2010:
Agusti Villaronga
- 2011: Angel de la Cruz, Ignacio Ferreras,
Paco Roca
, and Rosanna Cecchini
- 2012: Javier Barreira, Gorka Magallon, Ignacio del Moral, Jordi Gasull, and Neil Landau
- 2013:
Alejandro Hernandez
and
Mariano Barroso
- 2014:
Javier Fesser
, Claro Garcia, and Cristobal Ruiz
- 2015:
Fernando Leon de Aranoa
- 2016:
Alberto Rodriguez
and
Rafael Cobos
- 2017:
Isabel Coixet
- 2018:
Alvaro Brechner
- 2019:
Benito Zambrano
, Daniel Remon, and Pablo Remon
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2020s
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[1]
Awarded as Best Screenplay (including both original and adapted)
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International
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National
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Other
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