The Calligraphy of Dreams – a novel set in Barcelona (‘the arsehole of the world’)

17th August 2014

The Calligraphy of Dreams by Juan Marsé (translated by Nick Caistor) – a novel set in Barcelona.

‘The arsehole of the world’ is how the Rat Catcher (the father of Ringo, the main character of The Calligraphy of Dreams) describes the Barcelona of the 1940s – a very far cry from the present day chic, tourist capital of Catalonia. And I guess Marsé should know – he was born in Barcelona in 1933 and educated at the College of the Divine Master in the city. He then went on to be an apprentice jeweller (exactly as Ringo in the book…) before leaving the city for thirteen years to complete his national service and a spend time in Paris. He returned in 1962.

Ringo is the son of the Rat Catcher and Alberta. They live is a seedy and run down part of Barcelona. The Rat Catcher is often away (catching rats). One of their close neighbours is a lady called Victoria Mir who, in modern parlance, is a care assistant and part time masseuse. Señora Mir has a daughter called Violeta (who Ringo fancies in a experimental teenage sort of way). The book opens with Señora Mir trying to commit suicide by laying herself across a few yards of tram track (on which a tram has not travelled in years) on the road outside her flat. She is humoured by the passers by… most of whom think she is quite mad. Much of the book is taken up by describing what brought her to this point…

In fact she is obsessed by Abel Alonso, a mysterious character who is a slightly limping ex-footballer with a face and a presence described by Ringo as being a bit like Fagan. Her infatuation began when Alonso came to her for treatment – the last in a line of unsuitable liaisons she has made. Alonso seems sinister, but it is hard to say exactly why. Much of the story is based around the teenage exploits of Ringo and his friends and, in particular, Ringo’s propensity for day dreaming and storytelling. One night they head to the red light district of Barcelona (just to watch…) and get separated. Ringo meets up by chance with Alonso who gives him a letter to give to Victoria – a letter she has been obsessively been waiting for to be delivered to Rosales Bar in the street where they live. Alonso buys Ringo too much to drink, and we suspect some sort of foul play – but our suspicions come to nought. Alonso safely sees Ringo to the tram to take him home…

The Calligraphy of Dreams has a somewhat dark aura. You are never sure quite what is going to happen and why, but you feel it may not be good. It is a book where you always wonder exactly what is around the next corner – and that is a great compliment to the storytelling powers of Marsé. He can build tension and suspicion. Yet it is also a very observant book. The characters are well drawn and believable, and we have a great deal of sympathy for both Ringo and Señora Mir.

The setting is, of course, a long way from the Barcelona of today – but I would imagine it paints a pretty good picture of the city as it was 70 years ago in Franco’s time. Parts, at least, were sordid and rough and it offers echoes of footsteps past to understand the present.

Oh, and the Rat Catcher’s frequent travels and periods away from home play into a much bigger picture, and form a sub plot for the book. All is not as it seems in pest control land…

Tony for the TripFiction team

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