"Saint George was an animal abuser who surely couldn't read"

BarcelonaWhen Transbordo en Moscú, the last volume of Las tres leyes del movimiento, Eduardo Mendoza (Barcelona, 1943) thought it was time to retire. "The best thing I could do was retire, because I had already written everything I wanted to –he recalls at Casa del Libro in Barcelona–. Then I started to get bored and thought I would do something else without forgetting that I was in injury time." That was five years ago and, since then, Mendoza has published Tres enigmas para la Organización (2024) and, just this week, La intriga del funeral inconveniente, both published by Seix Barral, like the rest of his work. "Eduardo has often considered stopping writing and has even announced it, but we are lucky that he has done the opposite afterwards –admits Elena Ramírez, his editor–. Last year was very hectic for him, with everything that the Princess of Asturias Award and several trips entailed, including the Guadalajara Book Fair. Nothing suggested he was working on a new novel".

Although he has won awards such as the Planeta (2010) and the Cervantes

Although he has won awards such as the Planeta (2010) and the Barcelona, the perfect mix

A The Intrigue of the Inconvenient Funeral rescues one of its most emblematic and outlandish characters, that of the nameless detective. He has accompanied him for almost five decades, since he unveiled his first case, The Mystery of the Haunted Crypt (1978). "Since then, I haven't felt like I've ever abandoned him, even though it's been a while since the previous book, The Secret of the Lost Model (1978). "Since then I haven't felt like I've ever abandoned it, even though it's been a while since the previous book, rascality. Even with its problems, it has a good climate, prices are relatively reasonable, the food is good, people are friendly, and services work quite well."

The Intrigue of the Inconvenient Funeral begins with an unfortunate chronicle by a journalist new to the profession that triggers the investigation of a high-level financial plot. "Although things are going better for Barcelona than when I started writing, globally we are in a very bad moment – he acknowledges. There is a whole series of people in power who do not inspire much confidence. When a certain president can say 'I will destroy a civilization,' I am very taken aback."

The only moment Mendoza seems to lose his sense of humor at the public presentation of his latest novel is when he refers to the proximity of April 23rd: "I'm campaigning to stop it from being associated with Saint George – he assures. For me, April 23rd is Book Day, period. Saint George was an animal abuser who surely couldn't read. He is not the patron saint of writers or anything like that. He is a guy who has appropriated the festival.