“Galder Reguera turns emotion into a celebration of the intellect and shows that there is no broader field of inquiry than one’s own family.” —Juan Villoro
“When life is told with frankness, nobility, and undisguised kindness, one is left disarmed.” —Juan Marqués, The Objective
“Galder Reguera raises autofiction to great heights.” —Carlos Sala, La Razón
“His literature brings happiness. A contagious, unsettling happiness—the kind that pushes you to do things, however inconsequential they may be.” —Marcel Beltrán, Panenka
“A noble and kind writer, sensitive and very intelligent.” —Las Librerías Recomiendan
When Unai was ten years old, his father abandoned the family to move to Barcelona and become a successful writer. That absence has shaped not only his childhood but also the way he understands love. After receiving a call announcing that his father has been hospitalized, Unai finally prepares for the reunion that has obsessed him for years.
Life and Work is a novel about how to understand artistic creation within the context of family relationships, and how the romantic idea that the author must be committed to the work above life itself sometimes conceals a privilege. It is a fascinating story about literature as something that can bring people together—or separate them forever.
After moving readers with Family Book, chosen as one of the best books of 2020 by La Vanguardia and The Objective (“a magnificent book,” David Trueba; “an excellent novel,” Manuel Vilas; “brave and moving,” Juan Villoro), Galder Reguera continues to explore his central themes: family conflicts and the father–son relationship.
- A novel about how artistic creation shapes the life of a family—and how literature can bring people together or separate them forever.
- Galder Reguera continues to explore one of his central themes: family relationships, especially between father and son, as well as emotions such as abandonment, rejection, and frustration.
- A portrait of a generation of men—the ones who became fathers in the 1960s and 1970s—who were unable to reconcile their responsibilities as parents with their professional ambitions, something many readers will find familiar.
- A novel about the craft of writing and the demands of literary commitment.