Pepe Carvalho

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

José "Pepe" Carvalho is a fictional character by the Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán .

Pepe Carvalho is a private detective living in Barcelona . In addition to his great passion for Spanish (and especially Catalan) cuisine, the fictional character has a multitude of character traits that are rather untypical for the protagonists of classic crime novels.

With his critical view of the modern, post-Franco society of Spain, the Pepe Carvalho novels are considered political, socially and socially critical crime novels: They read like a chronicle of recent Spanish history and are full of ironic allusions to current political and social issues social conditions in Spain. It is particularly noticeable that they repeatedly address the lack of or insufficient (past) coping with the time of Franquism and its effects on today's Spanish society and democracy.

The Pepe Carvalho range has been sold millions of times around the world and has been translated into over 20 languages. It is one of the best-known and most widely read crime fiction in Spain.

character

Pepe Carvalho grew up under the Franco regime. He becomes a member of the Spanish Communist Party , but spends two years in political captivity - betrayed by his own political companions. He then leaves Spain for the USA and becomes a CIA agent there. After four years he returns to Spain and becomes a private detective.

He opens a detective agency right on the Ramblas in the heart of Barcelona , in the poor district of Barri Xinès ( Catalan for Chinese quarter ). From here his cases lead him to the most diverse social milieus in Barcelona; however, in some cases he has to leave Barcelona.

His friend, employee and assistant Biscuter cooks for him in the detective agency during the day; In the evening in his private apartment just outside Barcelona in Vallvidrera , on the slopes of the Tibidabos , he indulges his passions: He is a passionate cook, likes to drink a lot of wine and burns his books one after the other, usually to light the fireplace in his apartment Library. He also spends many nights with his neighbor Fuster (to celebrate feeding orgies) or with his lover Charo, who works as a prostitute.

Carvalho is more of the antitype of the classic private detective, with a rich, complex and contradicting personality. He is a reflection of the society in which he lives, cynic, observer and ironic commentator on the Transición .

A particularly noticeable trait of Carvalho's character is his cynicism, which he has become accustomed to in view of the experiences and experiences before his time as a private detective (treason, imprisonment, loss of idealism). This is most evident in the almost ritualistic burning of the books in his library (at least one book per novel).

The figure of Pepe Carvalho shows parallels to Manuel Vázquez Montalbán in many ways: The biography of Carvalho and Montalbán - especially the time before Carvalho's activity as a private detective - are similar, for example, B. in the fact that both come from Galicia, grew up in poor conditions, were members of the Spanish Communist Party and were politically imprisoned during the Franco era. Furthermore, Montalbán was considered a passionate cook during his lifetime, loved good food and wine and lived - like Carvalho - in Vallvidrera .

Characters

  • Biscuter appears in the novels as an assistant to Carvalho and takes care of various things in his office, but above all about the hospitality of his boss.
  • Charo is Carvalho's lover and works as a prostitute .
  • Bromuro is a shoe shiner whom Carvalho often characterizes as the loser of history and who often serves as an informant for him due to his good relations with Barcelona's underworld.
  • Enric Fuster is Carvalho's neighbor, a cultivated accountant with whom he often discusses his cases.
  • Inspector Contreras did his job under Franco and still knows Carvalho as a young communist. He despises the detective.
  • Bleda is a bitch that Carvalho gets in The Seas of the South .

Novels

Note: The German translations were initially (partially) shortened, but then in full in subsequent editions by Rowohlt , later - partly in a revised translation and under a new title - by Piper Verlag and are now being published in a new edition by Verlag Klaus Wagenbach .

  • I killed Kennedy (Spanish: Yo maté a Kennedy) , 1972: This novel is not seen in literary studies as the beginning of the Carvalho series because the protagonist does appear, but it still lacks the typical characteristics. In general, it is referred to as the first part.
  • Carvalho and the tattooed corpse (Spanish: Tatuaje) , 1974
  • The loneliness of the manager (Spanish: La soledad del manager) : Carvalho returned to Spain from exile in 1975 when he found out about the murder of an old friend: Jaumá, manager of an international corporation, was found with a pair of panties in his pocket. Since he had a lot of love affairs, it is assumed that someone from the milieu murdered him. However, Carvalho notes that Jaumá obviously knew too much about his employer's secret plans.
  • The seas of the south (Spanish: Los mares del Sur) , title of the first German edition: Tahiti is near Barcelona, ​​1979: A wealthy entrepreneur who actually wanted to emigrate to the South Seas is found stabbed to death in Barcelona.
  • Carvalho and the murder in the Central Committee (Spanish Asesinato en el Comite Central) , 1981: Carvalho goes to Madrid to solve the murder of the General Secretary of the Communist Party. The book was hotly debated in Spain because of its resemblance to real politicians and its clear allusions.
  • The birds of Bangkok (Spanish: Los pájaros de Bangkok) , 1983: Carvalho travels to Thailand on behalf of an old friend's family to look for them - Teresa Marsé has disappeared in Bangkok and is in a life-threatening situation.
  • The Rose of Alexandria (Spanish: La rosa de Alejandria) , 1984: At the request of his friend Charo, the detective investigates the murder of her cousin, whose body was found dismembered.
  • The Flying Spaniard (Spanish Historias de fantasmas) , 1987
  • Laura and Catalina (Spanish: Tres historias de amor) , title of the first German edition: Lauras Asche, 1987
  • To the truth through murder (Spanish Historias de política ficcíon) , 1987
  • The sign of Zorros (Spanish Asesinato en el Prado del Rey y otras historias sórdidas) , title of the German first edition: Mord im Prado del Rey, 1987
  • When the dead bathe (Spanish: El Balneario) , title of the first German edition: Some go bathing, 1986: Carvalho takes a break and has rented a health clinic to fast. When the corpse of an American woman appears in the swimming pool, however, the vacation is over.
  • The shot from the ambush / Carvalho and the dead center forward (Spanish: El delantero centro fue asesinado al atardecer) , 1988: The richest and most renowned football club in Barcelona receives the threat that its center forward should be murdered at sunset. The intrigue world of football and politics is rolled up here.
  • The passion of the snoopers - Cooking with Carvalho (Spanish: Las recetas de Carvalho) , title of the German first edition: The kitchen of venial sins, 1989
  • Lost in the labyrinth (Spanish El laberinto griego) , 1991: The author himself wrote the script for the film adaptation of this novel. Carvalho is supposed to monitor the 17-year-old daughter of an entrepreneur, who is in danger of slipping into the drug scene, and to find a Greek artist who has disappeared in Barcelona.
  • War for Olympia (span.Sabotaje olímpico) , 1993
  • The brother of death (Spanish El hermano pequeño) , 1994
  • Roldán, ni vio ni muerto , 1994: The text, which is full of allusions to the real Luis Roldán case, deals with the search for the missing ex-director of the Guardia Civil . It originally appeared in the Spanish newspaper El País .
  • Undercover in Madrid (span. El premio) , 1996: Carvalho is supposed to protect the founder Lázaro Conesal, a financial shark who has many enemies, at the presentation of the literary prize in Madrid. However, this does not succeed, whereupon he investigates the murder. The writer Sanchez Bolín, the alter ego of Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, appears again and again.
  • Carvalho and the girl who should be Emmanuelle (Spanish: La muchacha que pudo ser Emmanuelle) , 1997 (as a serial in the Spanish daily El País ): Carvalho on the trail of a murdered woman who almost became an erotic film star.
  • Quintet in Buenos Aires (Spanish Quinteto de Buenos Aires) , 1997: The detective is looking for the missing daughter of his cousin Raúl.
  • The last bolero (Spanish: El hombre de mi vida) , 2000: The son of a very wealthy Catalan industrialist is murdered. Carvalho has to solve this murder and help set up a Catalan secret service. The novel deals with Catalan nationalism, sects and spies.
  • Milenio Carvalho , 2004: Volume 1 Rumbo a Kabul , Volume 2 El las antípodas : In the style of Jules Vernes Around the world in eighty days , Carvalho and Biscuter travel in 200 days to Italy, Greece, Israel to Kabul and from there via Thailand to Australia. From there it goes on with a sailing boat to South America. The trip includes contemporary events such as the invasion of Afghanistan and the terrorist attack on Bali in 2002. Carvalho is charged with the murder and Biscuter emancipates himself from him.

Secondary literature

  • Albrecht Buschmann: Power and its price. Detective narration with Leonardo Sciascia and Manuel Vázquez Montalbán. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2005, ISBN 382602656X

Prices

In 1979 Manuel Vázquez Montalbán received the Premio Planeta and the Prix ​​international de la Littérature Policière for The Seas of the South . In 1988 the author received the Premio de la ciudad de Barcelona for the novel The Shot from Ambush . In 1989 the translation of the novel El Balneario was awarded the German Crime Prize .

Web links

  • The Thrilling Detective website about Pepe Carvalho , English, with references to several films and TV series since 1976, updated around 2018 (reference to a possible continuation of the series by Carlos Zanón from 2019), last accessed December 14, 2019