The Winterlings

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Sánchez-Andrade’s dark humour and simple language befit the magical-realist realm of this enigmatic tale about how the repercussions of human action, however ancient, can re-emerge at unpredictable times. Cristina-Sánchez-Andrade is, simply, one of the best writers in Spain. Her language is vastly rich. A memorable narration. A flawless and unusual novel. What I like about The Winterlings is that it flows really nicely. However bizzare, you don't feel like being dragged to any situations. The characters are... quite well-developed for such a short book. With so many names, the author clearly shows an effort to cling one characteristic upon everyone. Sometimes to a higher degree, but will not lead you up to anything, some are not. Al final de un carreiro que zigzagueaba entre nabizales, seguía estando la vieja casa del abuelo —también su casa—, ahora cubierta por las ramas de una higuera.

This is the star of the night, Daniel Mays' mud-covered Patsy, a vain but cheerful youngster who looks and moves with the sinuous fluidity of a lead singer from an Eighties Ska group. Barrieron el suelo. Arrancaron las telarañas. Colocaron los bártulos que traían. Hicieron una sopa. Menguó la luz y aumentó el frío. I was at a small, local bookstore in Spain, when this book was highly offered to me upon my question for 'one local author to read to understand Spanish literary scene'. So let's say my expectation is quite a considerable amount. Gripping … With nods to magical realism and the American gothic tradition, [The Winterlings ] follows a pair of sisters as they return to their deceased grandfather’s home in a Galician village – but their reappearance brings the insular parish’s dark secrets to the fore. Cristina-Sánchez-Andrade is, simply, one of the best writers in Spain.... A flawless and unusual novel.” — El Correo GallegoCristina-Sánchez-Andrade is, simply, one of the best writers in Spain. Her language is vastly rich. A memorable narration. A flawless and unusual novel.” — El Correo Gallego At October’s Book Club, the title under discussion was PEN Translates award-winning The Winterlings by Cristina Sánchez-Andrade, translated from Spanish by Samuel Rutter. The evening also featured our final guests of 2016, the author herself and Henry Rosenbloom, the founder of the book’s publisher Scribe (whose list this year is a full half translated literature, we were delighted to hear!). Nadie quería sentarse junto a él porque desprendía cierto olor. No era olor a establo, ni a sudor, ni siquiera a la grasa de la comida: el cura olía a ropa guardada y a cura." In addition to visual art, Wolff co-founded the Americana band, The Winterlings, channeling his poetic and painterly energy into original songs. The Winterlings have recorded 4 studio albums, played in Seattle’s great listening rooms and earned praise from PASTE, No Depression, The Seattle Times & BBC Radio which said, “We are impressed!” Their first album, The Animal Groom (2010), hit #6 on the Folk Chart. Over the past 7 years they’ve played in thousands of venues and opened a show for Blue Oyster Cult. In 2017, they played at the Lincoln Memorial for the Restore Civility Peace Rally in Washington D.C. C-Span broadcast the event to 9 million people. The Winterlings are currently working on their 5th Studio Album. Wolff’s written works have been acclaimed almost as much as his paintings. He has published in dozens of literary anthologies and earned praise from former Poet Laureates Robert Pinsky and Mark Strand. Wolff has published two books of poetry “Orphanage of Imagination” (2002) & “Heavyweight Champion of the Night” (2008). Wolff’s poem “Into The Day of Saturn” was quoted in a horoscope by renowned astrologer Rob Brezsny.

The War was not something Cristina necessarily intended to write about, but the tale needed to be set during the 1950s to accommodate the entirely true story of Ava Gardner coming to a Spanish village at that time to film Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, when local villagers did indeed audition to be her body double. The revelation of the whole village’s involvement in Don Reinaldo’s fate reflected the ways that many ordinary folk found themselves forced to inform on friends and family simply to stay alive. After the interval, Jez Butterworth begins to play with form and time. Similar situations are replayed with characters taking lines previously used by others, while absurdity is emphasised, particularly by a new entrant, Lue (Sally Hawkins). In an irritating, high-pitched drawl, she talks of her desire to fly away but never does so. Mujeres con secretos llegan (tal vez buscando refugio; seguramente buscando refugio) a pueblucho de mierda plagado de infelices habitantes secretos y soportando lo que parecen sentimientos de culpa por algo que ocurrió hace tanto tiempo. Casi parece Infierno de Cobardes. Bromeo. Las cosas no van, ni remotamente, por ahí.

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La forma de escribir de la autora es peculiar y me ha enamorado. El ritmo es pausado, incluso poético a veces, los personajes extravagantes, la atmósfera oscura e introduce elementos de realismo mágico que podrían haberme asustado pero no lo han hecho. Todo encaja, hasta sus personajes llenos de clichés: el maestro, el cura, el dentista... cuyas vidas vienen a poner patas arriba las dos hermanas. Samuel Rutter is a writer and translator from Melbourne, Australia. His work can be found in journals such as Overland and Meanjin and his translation of Cristina Sánchez-Andrade's novel The Winterlings received a PEN Translates grant in 2015. With a special interest in the fiction of the Cono Sur region of Latin America, he has translated contemporary authors including Hernán Ronsino, Matías Celedón, Carlos Labbé, and Selva Almada. Currently a PhD candidate in Spanish at the University of Melbourne, in 2016 he will undertake an MFA in Creative Writing at Vanderbilt University. Los hombres doblados sobre la tierra se enderezaron para observar. Las mujeres detuvieron las escobas. Los niños dejaron de jugar: dos mujeres con grandes huesos cansados, como irritados de la vida, atravesaban la plaza del pueblo. The sisters fit well into the cast of rural grotesques, they harbour dark secrets which Sanchez-Andrade tempts and taunts the reader with, until late on the piece, their reveal..

Her skin gives off waves of heat, the light, the beating of their hearts, and the touching of flesh soothes the women. Dolores’ answer lurks in the darkness.

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It is by turns horrific and horribly funny, while the pin-sharp acting of Jez Pike's production ensures that Butterworth's pump-action dialogue is discharged at an impressive rate of rounds per minute. Yet at times it becomes difficult to distinguish honest homage from unintentional parody. What is the significance of the iron age fortress about which the characters possess an encyclopaedic knowledge? Why are they seemingly oblivious to the loud air strikes raging outside? In The Winterlings, we meet two sisters, named Saladina and Dolores who have returned to their childhood home. They lived with their grandfather in a small community in Galicia, named Tierra de Chá. Here, they find that ‘nothing and everything has changed: the people, the distant little house in the rain, the acrid smell of gorse, the flowers, the crops, the customs.’ Their return serves to disrupt the ‘placid existence of the villagers, stirring up memories best left alone.’

The Book Club is very grateful to both Cristina and Henry for their generous sharing of insights into the writing and publishing of the book. As with all our previous guest speakers, they added to our understanding and enjoyment of the book immeasurably. And The Winterlings certainly gets a hearty thumbs-up from the English PEN Translated Literature Book Club. The time period in which The Winterlings is set is not quite precise. The villagers are reeling from the past war, where Spain was split into National and Republican fronts. This still looms large in their memories. During this war, some of them ‘who had voted for the Left in the elections no longer left their houses’, and others fled to Cuba, or Portugal. When the sisters return, the community is still divided, and this is something which I would have liked to seen explored in greater detail as the novel went on. Something which is done relatively expansively, and well, though, is the coverage given to the tumultuous history of Spain, and its effects upon the villagers. Of these, we meet some only in passing, and others in more detail.A novel like The Winterlings refutes, by far, the so-called crisis of the genre … Under the splendid references of Valle-Inclán, Cunqueiro or the first Luis Mateo Díez, this novel is a tribute to the popular oral narrative. A novel shaped by intrigue, a perfect recreation of rural atmospheres, and a tempestuous past. A novel of disturbing humour, rigorous writing, and accomplished ambition. No voy a añadir nada más de esta historia de regusto rural y tópicos gallegos, que me ha deleitado con sus dos maravillosas protagonistas. "Las Inviernas" recoge tradición, personajes entrañables, vivencias surrealistas, pero también olores y sentimientos. Both author and publisher had nothing but praise for the translator. This was his first book-length translation project, but he already finds himself so busy that he’s unable to find time to take on further work for Scribe! He and Cristina worked closely together – she is also a translator, from English to Spanish – and the only difficulties in the process came with specifically Galician words or phrases. Caldo, a traditional Galician vegetable soup, was one example highlighted. Tension mounts when the sisters, once united by their passion for Hollywood cinema, compete for the chance to stand in for Ava Gardner in the nearby filming of Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. Meanwhile, a mutual suspicion develops between the mysterious sisters and the eccentric villagers: Why have the women returned, and what are they hiding? What perverse business arrangement did the townspeople make with their grandfather, and why won't they speak of his death? The Winterlings is Cristina’s ninth novel, but her first to be published in English. Henry first heard about the book from Cristina’s Spanish agent and, in a very rare move, bought the book unseen on the basis of Samuel Rutter’s enthusiastic recommendation.