mouthful
mouthful is a novel written by the Spanish producer, screenwriter, director, presenter and author Juan del Val. The work was published on September 28, 2023 by the Espasa publishing house, and has received generally mixed reviews. The positive ones praise the writer's agile and biting narrative style, while the negative ones find the book bland and disposable.
There are other opinions that balance the balance, claiming that mouthful It's easily a three-star title. On the other hand, The novel is much more recommended for those readers who enjoy choral narrative, with multiple characters that intertwine with each other and make up a joint story, although there is no general plot.
Synopsis of mouthful
A producer in crisis
The novel focuses on a group of characters who work at an audiovisual production company called Bocabesada. Located in a modern urban environment, explores themes such as love, friendship, past mistakes, death, self-improvement and prejudice. Among its protagonists stands out a successful author and television collaborator who is going through a bad time.
This subject is accompanied a couple facing Alzheimer's After fifty years of marriage, a prostitute delighted to be one to pay for your needs and whims, a transsexual woman who has not yet found their place in the world, skilled and intelligent women who must pay for their mistakes, among other characters. mouthful also explore the topic of sex.
An intrigue in the best style of soap operas
When a screenwriter and producer of television like Juan del Val —who, in addition, handles neat and attractive prose— decides to venture into literature, It usually happens that it creates a narrative similar to soap operas, with that structure where there is no discernible general plot, but rather several spicy subplots, where the entertainment is found in infidelities and bed problems.
Juan del Val narrates scenes of an actress eager to get the role of her life —although only three sentences are going to be given—, of people who find true love after becoming old and, in short, of all these characters who are involved because they all work for Bocabesada or have ties to it. series producer for platforms.
It's never easy to run away from life
Marcos is an attractive and intelligent television collaborator. The man going through a big crisis, and finds himself in the need to escape from his life. In the process of escaping from her, she finds herself among a cast of characters who work for Bocabesada. These people are: Álvaro, an ambitious television director. Clara, a talented, insecure and vulnerable actress, and Nola, an intelligent, although lonely and bitter screenwriter.
The more interactions Marcos has with them, the more immersed he becomes in their lives. As he meets these people, he discovers more about himself and the world around him. mouthful explores the relationships between these personalities, integrating themes such as friendship, family and work. In short, the novel is a sequence of scenes of characters resolving their lives.
The pursuit of happiness
As the subplots of each of the characters progress, they become more complex. In the process, Topics such as self-love, identity, and the pursuit of happiness are examined., which is, basically, what all human beings do after certain years of living. However, the novel is so short that its pages are not enough to generate real interest in the protagonists.
mouthful It presents itself as a clearly well-written novel, however, it lacks that vibrant spark that produces longing after reading it. The detail about this aspect is that there is no defined message within it, but rather a series of actions and experiences that, although entertaining, do not have a profound impact even though the topics it deals with are complex, as is its Main cast.
Write about what you know
Authors who are introduced to creative writing may come across the phrase “write about what you know or investigate what you don't know.” In this sense, For Juan del Val it was very simple to find his setting, well, who better than him to write about those little office gossips? around a television station? That's why the book's marketing campaign revolves around a bridge between reality and fiction.
En mouthful Stories are assembled around the writing of the scripts, how to take a production to the next level, dealings with directors and actors, a certain obsession with observation and details and other elements that can be found on a television station. There are moments of tenderness, laughter, drama and reflection. Overall, this is an entertaining novel to have a good time.
About the author, Juan del Val
Juan del Val was born on October 5, 1970, in Madrid, Spain. He is well known for participating as a collaborator in the talk show The Anthill, where he has a section at the end in which he humorously expresses his opinions. His criticism of Spanish politics has earned him the nickname “controversial,” although he does not consider himself under this term.
Likewise, He has worked in various radio and television media, such as Telecinco, Antena 3, Channel 9, Spanish Television y National Radio of Spain. 2018 was a very fruitful year for the author, since he was awarded the Primavera prize thanks to one of his novels, which has positioned him as one of the best narrative writers in Spain.
Regarding his personal life, Juan del Val is married to Nuria Roca, with whom he has three children. The writer has commented that he feels very privileged to attend promotional tours for his books, share with readers who appreciate his work and give interviews to journalists interested in knowing the background of his original stories.
Other books by Juan del Val
- It seems like a lie (2017);
- Candle (2019);
- Delparaiso (2021)