The second installment of Rafael Chirbes' stark diaries becomes the most voted work by a jury of 75 experts. In addition, six Latin American authors comment on their favorite titles of the season on the other side of the Atlantic.
The green shoots of post-covid optimism froze in the early morning of February 24th when Russia invaded Ukraine. Six months later, on August 12th, Salman Rushdie suffered an assassination attempt in New York: he is still alive but has lost an eye and the mobility of a hand. Four weeks later, on Sunday, September 11th, Javier Marías, an emblem of recent Spanish literature, died.
Marías was so far the only author who had placed three of his books at the top of the Babelia list. It was in 2011 (Los enamoramientos), 2014 (This is how the bad starts) and 2017 (Berta Isla). That brand has just been equaled by Rafael Chirbes, who in 2013 triumphed with On the shore, repeated last year with the first installment of his posthumous diaries (A ratos perdidos) and does it again with the second volume.
