The Skin and the Princess: A Novel of Love, Power, and Intrigue in 17th Century Prague

Abstract: The Skin and the Princess, winner of the Josep Pla Prize 2004, is a love story and an investigation into the mechanisms of power. Sebastián Alzamora recreates the tale of the courtship between Pupp and Princess Mary with overwhelming force. Their luminous sensuality and infinite love are reborn in every encounter, regardless of time and identity. Set in Prague during the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War, the story unfolds amidst court intrigues. Duke Anthony, King Frederick, Queen Juana, and Rabbi Judah Loew (Pupp's mentor and protector) are all involved as conspirators and victims in a game of violence and sex. Among them, the Golem, an artificial human, plays a unique role. With expressive prose, Alzamora braids a romantic story from different narrative voices, deforming and sublimating European myths. Incorporating ironic anachronisms and homages to works like Shakespeare's The Tempest, The Tales of Hoffmann, and The Good Soldier Švejk, The Skin and the Princess is a poignant chronicle of the passions that cloud human life and a secret that should never have been revealed. The rabbi knows this secret, and it has much to do with the binding of souls.

Love and Evil in Mallorca

Love and evil are two forces that can exert absolute power over a lifetime. Which of the two, however, is more powerful? In present-day Mallorca, grandparents Sara and Jeremiah preside over what may be their last family meal. Twenty-five years ago, the family gathered for a similar occasion, the killing of the pig. However, one member, a son of Jeremiah and Sarah, has disappeared in the intervening years. What happened? To answer this question, we must delve into the memories of two key figures and reconstruct the story of their lives. The result is a novel about love, friendship, and loneliness; about old age and its effects on serenity and defeat, fear and beauty. It's a story that takes place in a pre-tourist Mallorca.