Javier Cercas will participate in a round table about his work, memory, today's Spains and his novel Soldados de Salamina.

Javier Cercas is a celebrated Spanish novelist, short-story writer, and essayist. His best-known work, Soldados de Salamina (2001), has sold more than 500,000 copies in Spain, has been published in more than 20 languages, and was made into a feature film. His latest novel, Anatomía de un instante (The Anatomy of a Moment), is a chilling reconstruction of the attempted coup in the Spanish Parliament on 23 February 1981, when army insurgents sought to bring fascism back to democratic Spain.

Javier Cercas Mena (Ibahernando, Cáceres, 1962), taught Spanish at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1987-1989 before returning to Spain to teach Spanish Literature at the University of Girona, where he continues today.

Boston area events:

Screening of Soldiers of Salamis at Boston University

On November 30th at 5:00 pm at Sargent College 102, Boston University, 635 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA. Screening of Soldiers of Salamis (Soldados de Salamina), presented by Marta Villar (BU lecturer)

Synopsis: A novelist who has stopped writing investigates a true story from the final days of the Civil War. The writer and Falangist Rafael Sánchez Mazas was shot by firing squad together with 50 other prisoners, but was able to flee and hide in the forest. It seems that a soldier, combing the zone for his capture, found him but allowed him to escape. The writer puts these pieces together, a puzzle plagued by contradictions and enigmatic characters. Through this investigation, and though she is not aware of it, the writer doesn’t only search for the truth, but also for herself.

Round table discussion with Javier Cercas at Boston University

On December 3rd at 5:00 pm at Photonics Center, 9th Floor, Boston University, 8 St. Mary's Street, Boston, MA.

Round table discussion with writer Javier Cercas, one of the most prominent contemporary voices of European literature. Professors Luis Fernández Cifuentes (Harvard University) and Marta Villar (Boston University) will participate in the conversation. Using as a jumping off point the celebrated novel, Soldados de Salamina, the participants will discuss the book, along with film, historic memory, and the current cultural situation of Spain.

Venue

Various venues

More information

Instituto Cervantes Boston

Credits