Las ilusiones

Set in the outskirts of Madrid, the action of this fragmentary, autobiographical novel takes place as much in the recession-plagued Spanish capital as it does within the narrator's own head. Though nominally about the protagonist's drive to create a movie with the aid of dreamers and idealists similar to himself, the book has larger aspirations; it seeks to make a point about the process of creation itself, and specifically the creation of cinema, and vividly, poignantly portrays the blunders and the sense of loss of post-adolescence, but also its fleeting glories and eternal promises of happiness. This debut novel from one of the rising cinematic and literary voices in Spain is, for all its brevity, a profound and incredibly intimate look at the process of maturity as well as at art and beauty.