Can a writer in the Catalan tongue write a novel taking place in New York that is of interest to Anglophone readers? Absolutely! After reading his short story collection Guadalajara (I recommend you check it out, by the way), I've found that there's always something interesting, amusing, ridiculous, curious and fresh about Quim Monzo's writing that sometimes makes other writers look like they're trying too hard, European or otherwise. While I found Gasoline to be as rewarding in that respect, I was surprised to find how depressed the book made me as well, which is something I rarely encounter no matter how dark, dismal or luckless the story; however, I suspect that this was only because of my own aspirations to be a writer and had little to do with Monzo's original intent. Still, the fact that he could accomplish that is impressive indeed, and my ranking of him on my favourite authors list has risen a few places higher as a result. The title, Gasoline, refers to the petrol of creativity that first runs out for artist Heribert Julia and, following a meteoric rise to fame, for Humbert Herrera, the artist that follows in Heribert's footsteps (I couldn't help but conclude that the name Humbert must have been a reference to Nabokov's infamous pedophile from Lolita; his influence does seem to be there). Most, if not all, of the characters names begin with an H, which adds to the amusing side of the book, and the way in which Monzo describes Heribert's tiring task of thinking reminded me a lot of Raskolnikov, Dostoyevsky's main man in Crime & Punishment. Long lost Catalan cousin? Who knows. But just as in Guadalajara, Monzo maintains his own voice. Given that it has succeeded in depressing me, amusing me and showing me another side of Monzo's creative and original mind, I was very close to giving this book five stars; I only did not because, truth be told, Monzo is better at crafting short stories than he is novels or novellas. Due to the way he divided up the prose throughout the book (first by chapter, then each chapter into about ten little segments), I suspect he approached it in much the same way he approaches the short story. This is not to suggest that it is illegible (a shoutout to Mary Ann Newman for a well done translation), or that people should not read the book; anybody interested in Catalan literature, stories set in New York, the lives of artists and intellectual or creative downfall will not regret tracking down a copy. Though it might be more worthwhile to read his short stories first, it's not do or die unlike with other writers, and whether it's Gasoline, Guadalajara or any of his other works, Quim Monzo's the type of author where no matter what you choose, you can't go completely wrong in ones decision.
three decades after it was first published, quim monzó's gasoline (benzina) still offers seductive insight into the lives of artists and the myriad challenges inherent in the creative process. the catalan author's novel (one of five his books available in english translation), split into two parts, features two protagonists at very different points in their artistic careers. heribert, with his best successes behind him has become bored, aloof, and passionless, while hubert, ready to usurp more than heribert's aesthetic achievements, is inspired and inexhaustible - yet, the two of them seem to inevitably end up facing the same dissatisfaction and disappointment.at times surrealist, revealing, and droll, gasoline perhaps offers more questions than it provides answers. is hubert destined to become heribert? is one's success merely the springboard for his successors? are ego and selfishness ultimately noxious influences on the artist? does triumph unavoidably lead to torpor? might true love be unattainable for the aesthete? rather than clarification, monzó's story contents itself with portraiture and personification.with a cast of characters whose names almost uniformly begin with 'h' (heribert, hubert, helena, hildegarda, hug, hipólita, hilari, hannah, hilda, herundina, henrietta, heloise, and hester), gasoline is as much commentary on the cyclical trappings of success as it is on the capricious nature of the art world. monzó's fiction is inventive, arousing, and often facetious, yet also skillfully crafted and uniquely composed. that more of his work (whether novels, short stories, or essays) will be forthcoming in translation, one can only hope. why can't he just stay forevermore in that place, where, as if by a secret pact, everything is white and everyone is dressed in white, juggling similes and metaphors like a circus performer?*rendered from the catalan by mary ann newman
What do You think about Gasoline (2010)?
Anagrama recuperó en 2009 para su colección de Compactos la novela de Monzó publicada por primera vez en 1987. El libro se divide en dos partes, en la primera, Heribert es un pintor que raya la consagración y comienza a perder pie en su vida: su oficio se desdibuja, su devenir cotidiano también. Humbert (todos los nombres comienzan por hache excepto aquellos que no caen directamente en el radio de la mascarada) es un aspirante que se confirma y que reitera el proceso de Heribert (vital y artístico). La moraleja no vale, creo, el esfuerzo de leerse el libro; el estilo sobresaliente del autor (reiterativo, enumerativo, circular), considero, podría haberlo empleado en contar otras cosas menos soporíferas; con la gasolina del título, además del mercado del arte, bien podríamos dejar arder el volumen y a nosotros mismos con él, desesperados.
—Buensur
It's hard to characterize Gasoline. This is a book that I think will appeal to fans of the Latin American magical realists, modern Catalan and other European authors, or the creative process in general. The story will turn your expectations on their head. It's been described elsewhere as a fun-house mirror of a novel. I found it to be somewhat dream-like as to narrative style. The deliberate naming of characters (every major character's first name begins with H) is another masterful touch. The p
—Julia Alberino
Heribert is a renowned painter whose work is scheduled to be shown in a double exhibition in less than a month. However, he cannot find the motivation to create anything that pleases him. Instead of working on his paintings as the deadline draws near, he spends his mornings lying in bed for hours idly watching the second hand of his clock, and his afternoons and evenings in sex shops, restaurants, and in the company of lovers who bore him (and the reader), as he obsesses about his never present wife, Helena, who is seemingly having an affair of her own.Our man is felled by an absurd accident which prevents him from completing his assignment, similar to a lazy child who claims that his dog ate his homework. Humbert, a young and unknown artist who happens to be his wife's lover, submits his paintings in his place, to rave reviews, as Heribert wallows in the muck of existential angst.Gasoline was a thoroughly maddening read, as I found Heribert to be a useless, pathetic and intensely dislikable tortured artiste. This book was supposedly about the creative process in art, but none of its characters captured my attention or earned an ounce of sympathy from me.
—Darryl
