Federico Falco

GRANTA 113: THE BEST OF YOUNG SPANISH-LANGUAGE NOVELISTS

Falco has a light, confident touch. He takes us into Cuqui’s world and deftly, elegantly tells us everything we need to know so that we can ponder the difficult problem of her future with her. There’s a feel of Flannery O’Connor’s ‘Wise Blood’ about it. Small people in a vast land, giving meaning to their lives. And the flattened out, pared down language accumulates in power so that you remember it as beautiful. – Esther Freud, Best Young British Novelist 1993

Each of the Best of Young Spanish-Language Novelists answered a questionnaire on their influences and the role of the writer in public life. Here are Falco's answers:

Name the five writers you most admire at the moment (any period, language or genre).

Arnaldo Calveyra, Eugenio Montale. William Faulkner, John Cheever, Juan José Saer.

Have you published literary criticism?

Yes – some time ago, for more than a year I published book reviews in the culture supplement of the newspaper Perfil in Buenos Aires. I stopped doing it because I felt uncomfortable in that role.

Which languages do you read in?

Spanish and English.

Do you have your own web page?

No – I had a blog between 2005 and 2008 but I closed it.

Is your fiction your sole source of income? If not, what else do you live off?

I’ve never lived off my fiction, and when I've received money from it, it was only ever in very modest amounts. At the moment, my earnings come from a study grant from New York University and Santander Bank.

Should writers play a role in public life beyond the publication of their work? If so, in what way?

For my own part, I try to limit myself to telling stories. Usually I’m not entirely sure what I’m writing about and the only way I am able to put it into words is by telling a story. I narrate from the basis of doubt, lack of certainties and unanswered questions. If there is something I can convey, it’s that.