In 2019, the agents representing Javier Pastor (Madrid, 1962-2025) judged that his novel 'Lo absurdo' was, despite the author's objections, 'legal lawsuit fodder'.
And it remained in a drawer until 2025, rescued by Ediciones del Azar. In it, the literary critic Perico Collazo, who has a long list of controversies behind him, proves his own cruelty when the networks lash out against him as a result of the suicide of a young writer who is torn to shreds by one of his ruthless reviews.
In the background, this masterful novel portrays the current publishing scene: vanities, debts and favors, pleas, lists of humiliated writers, resentment and envy of critics and authors eager for notoriety. ‘Lo absurdo' is the best book of literary execution by a critic written in Spanish, for which Pastor, who never betrayed the principles that drive his literature, paid a high price.
By Beatriz Pérez, June 8 2025
