David Ucles (Úbeda, Jaén) is a cultural figure of today, even if some people think so. Since Joaquín Sabina, there is no other ubetense that has achieved such high levels of response in the magical world of art.
Transformed into a literary phenomenon by publishing A peninsula of empty houses (Siruela, 2024), his name became the subject of controversy when he received the Nadal prize for the novel, which this wonderful book brings to bookstores, City of dead lights (Destino), set in Barcelona.
Fame critics like Nadal Suau or Alberto Olmos questions were asked about the supposedly settled character that the writer created and in other cases maintained bitter feud with Arturo Pérez-Reverte.
You have come to participate in the jornadas organized by the creator of Alatriste, 1936: the war we all lost – probably one of the investigators abrochaban statement – after he was compromised, for the equidistance that distilled the title, and not to ask to share the cartel with some of the West (ex-president Jose Maria Aznaramong others). In just ten days, since the news broke, it has received many positive comments, but also some very harsh criticism.
I’m sure the real reason I haven’t heard this is because I’m afraid some of the historians would pick apart their thoughts on the Civil War, but as this interview makes clear, I’ll be with Charla Luis Mateo DiezCervantes Prize. Nah, it seems that’s what these derroteros were supposed to be discussing. “I don’t feel this confirmation”, as they say in El Cultural. In the middle of this abyss, ready to scare the new one.
Please. En City of dead lights it continues by falling away from a mixture of historical fables and references. What appeals to you about this formula?
Response. To be able to give voice to artists who have disappeared, celestial bodies that you loved but continue to shine light. It’s a responsibility, but I always do it out of respect and kindness.
P. In my acceptance speech for the Nadal award, I specifically alluded to Mercè Rodoreda, Montserrat Roig and Carmen Laforet. What do they mean to you and how do you think they have influenced your writing?
R. The three of them opened the door of the city, which I now intend to body. I got to know Barcelona thanks to Laforet, I went to it thanks to Montserrat Roig and the beauties who raised her name, and I discovered thanks to the investigation of this beca My favorite writer: Rodoredawhich has had the greatest influence on my prose, though I suppose you will appreciate it only in the following novella.
P. I say it City of dead lights It’s a “profession of love in Barcelona”. Apart from your literary links, do you have any other connections with the town of Condal?
R. I went to the Middle Ages to explore all its areas: geography, architecture, gastronomy, culture, literature, language… Barcelona is now one of my homelandsarriving in Úbeda, Madrid or Compostela.
P. How did you know they could live together in the same novel? Josep Pla, Fermín Cacho and Rosalía? Was the gallery of colorful characters as high as it was?
R. we live together It forms part of the city’s history. I let them match in the same veins at the same time, I locked them in time. However, if we derive this social construct, we co-exist.
P. We encounter much more risky formal courses: black pages, the page takes up only the first and last lines and the rest is blank… Is this a game or an exercise in literary ambition?
R. I like to play with make-up. But let’s… No, he made a way. Lean Tristam Shandy!
P. Let’s say the story idea comes from before the last year in Spain, but does it have real plot resonances in mind when you’re writing about the past?
R. The novel will be published in 2021. Yes, it is ahead of the next page. I suppose that the dark will not be so extra to the free reader now. Yes, I follow the present. I live in El.
“When I wrote this novel, I was not aware that the text had to be analyzed in detail.”
P. What do you expect from the novel that follows the result? What will happen to people even after the wind, which is likely to be very strong? What about criticism?
R. I have no idea. Oh, the dizziness! Only if it’s a text that’s right for me, it is is before boom editorial de Peninsula of holiday homes. When he wrote it, he was not aware that the text needed to be dissected in detail. Let’s see what happens!
P. Carlos Ruiz Zafón is at the center of this novel. He was a successful author who was not treated particularly well by critics. Are you afraid of turning into another peer?
R. As long as I have readers in the presentations, I will continue to want to pursue this writing. Nadie forced me into this position at Zafón; I felt I had to accommodate him and so giant. A book is not only what it contains, but also the effect it causes and the color it creates.
P. For example, a year ago, in March 2025, in an interview with EL ESPAÑOL, I said that I enjoyed the glory, even though before I did not imagine that the glory was there. In fact, he had insults in social circles, controversies with Ayuso, cross statements with literary critics and had a confrontation with Pérez-Reverte. Are you still enjoying the glory?
R. It excites me and I like that my books are famous, oh yeah. Whether it’s you or not, no me quita el sueño. If my stories cover my life and I am ready to accept the body, I believe I am strong enough to face it. I have a lot of mental strength: It gives me the right to work honestly, sincerely and transparently.
“I oppose Pérez Revert only in the guise of the organizer of the act. I say nothing about his way of being, dressing or writing, I don’t have that.”
P. Are you sorry for a literary critic’s joke or an insult to a writer of such importance?
R. What is your question! The latter, so to speak.
P. Did you have someone in your environment – family, publisher… – whom you accuse of being less against you than Pérez-Reverte and who you think could damage your literary career?
R. I opposed Pérez Reverte only in the capacity of organizer of a specific act. No, I am saying absolutely nothing about your way of being, dressing or writing, I don’t have it.
P. Aznar publishes books on Planeta. Have you thought about it? Do you have a relationship between sharing the poster and sharing the catalog in the editorial or is that not the case?
R. I have nothing to say.
P. In an interview with EL ESPAÑOL, she noted that she was immersed in a project that took her many years. “The second part Peninsula… in which the post-war period can be reckoned with the same tone”. Are you still working on it? Will it be published in Siruel?
R. I say it many times and in many media. The second part will be with Siruela or not.
P. Of course, where is the time? Is this what some writers complain about: that literature – promotion, media, collaboration… – doesn’t have time to write?
R. I devote every hour of the day to this office. Time is up, don’t worry about my heart!
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