Joan Perucho - this fantastical vampire story set around Barcelona during the Carlist civil wars of the 1830s is, in its bookish fictiveness, reminiscent of Borges and Calvino; yet its strong infusion of Catalan culture lends it an accent all its own

Joan Perucho, Natural History, Ballantine Books; Alfred A. Knopf, 1988.

Antoni Mantpalau, a young Spanish aristocrat of the early 1800s, agrees to aid a village beset by an evil force and is stalked by a thirteenth-century vampire until their final, bloody confrontation

The first of Catalan author Perucho's works to be published outside Spain, this fantastical vampire story set around Barcelona during the Carlist civil wars of the 1830s is, in its bookish fictiveness, reminiscent of Borges and Calvino; yet its strong infusion of Catalan culture lends it an accent all its own. Young aristocrat Antoni de Montpalau, a passionate scientist, progressive and liberal, having deduced scientifically that a vampire has committed a mysterious series of murders, is drawn into pursuit of the creature, which has assumed the aspect of a Carlist guerrilla leader known as the Owl. Montpalau is soon captured, however, by the Carlist General Cabrera who turns out to be one of the Owl's victims; despite their political differences, the two become fast friends. Fully aware that only if the vampire is destroyed before his victim, can he himself avoid becoming a vampire, Cabrera's involvement in the hunt becomes increasingly urgent, while the vampire metamorphoses always in startling guises. Unfortunately, Perucho's novel, for all its invention and playful mock erudition, disappoints in its failure to draw the reader into its conceits with an impelling narrative flow or to point outside itself to larger meaning. - Publishers Weekly

In this tale, gentle reader, our writer pits good against evil, tranquility against turmoil, and destruction against love. A desperate vampire is wreaking havoc in the countryside of 19th-century, war-torn Spain, a noble scientist has come forth to challenge him, and a true love story has emerged. Does it sound too sweet? It could have been, but the proof is in the reading. Skillful Catalan novelist Perucho relates this tale with poetic rhythm, punctuated with scientific reflections and logic and set within the backdrop of the Carlist war. The publication of this work is welcome, not only for the novel itself, but also for the specialness of its native language. Catalan voices from Spain were suppressed for years; in Franco's Spain the language in any form was forbidden, causing its world of letters to collapse. But in today's Spain, Catalan writing is flourishing; our world is enchanced by its reemergence. - Michelle Lodge