Struggling with my Spanish Lessons. And my history.
“I wrote the book thinking that about four people would read it,” she says. “So I wrote it with the freedom that gives you.”
A year later her first published book has turned into a phenomenon. Now in its 13th edition, Feria has not only become a bestseller but has triggered frenzied debate and thrust its 30-year-old author into the spotlight.
But as well as its autobiographical content, there is a strident, moral tone to Feria, as Simón takes aim at a range of targets that she believes have tainted Spanish society and culture, including consumerism, classism, the marginalisation of rural Spain – and even reggaeton music.
“It’s about things which are very basic: death, love, the family,” she says. “And it’s nice to know that in the end we all have something in common, however much we might want to think otherwise.”
I can’t wait for a translated version so I won’t have to struggle .. but I’m glad I did because I understand the emotions behind what she has written.
Feria, Ana Iris Simon