Ash Wednesday by Miguel-Anxo Murado

 

 

Ash Wednesday by Miguel-Anxo Murado

Spanish (Galician) fiction

Original title – Mércores of cinza

Translator – Carey Evans-Corrales

Source – Review Copy

It wouldn’t be Spanish lit month without have at least one books translated from either Galician or Basque. So it is the second book by Miguel-Anxo Murado to be translated into English from the small press Small station. Murado is a writer, screenwriter and Journalist. He has written four books so far. He is also a commentator on Spanish politics for the BBC world service, Guardian and BBC four. His earlier books Soundcheck was based on his experiences during the Balkan conflict and is also published by the Small station press.

Dying blossoms, still white and pink,slowly letting go of the twisted boughs, wafted away by the gentlest of breezes, and children looking on. what are they thinking? the blossoms fall, time moves on.

This image interrupted the suffering of professor I… the image on an ordinary postcard, a simple photograph.He held it i n his hand and looked at it with some effort. It tired his eyes. Actually all of him was tired. He turned over; Ueno Park, tokyo, from his old friend of his, a colleague at Kyoto University, a marine biologist.

A man decides to see the blossom after looking aat tis card at the start of the story.

This is a collection of very short stories most less than ten pages all sixteen only take 136 pages. THe stories range around the world. From the last story which sees Professor visiting Kyoto to watch the annual Cherry Blossom. But this also reminds him that he himself has little time due to ilness. Then we have a ship that is sinking and the description of one sailor as he escapes the burning boat trying to escape and in the water watches his fellow crew members drift away as the currents catch them as a helicopter tries to save others. Then we are in Hong Kong with a visit to get a suit made over night at Wang’s.We see the Chinese ladies that work so hard to make a handmade suit over night. A classic story of two boys falling for a girl both in a gang they try to get her rather like the classic Babel tale of two men and a woman red Calvary.

Master Wang would greet his customers at the entrance bowing his way to the room he used as an office. In that tiny space, under the ceiling that seemed on the brink of caving in , was Wang’s inner sanctum

Wang Kept a collection of hundreds of buisness cards under glass on a table. Over the course of several years passing travelers and buisnessmen from all around the world would have some shorts or a jacket made at Wang’s or maybe some trousers.Most were people unable to spend  much more than twenty-four hours in the city. That is why the would go to Wang’s: Wang’s one-night-ready shop. He never failed on his promise to deliver the work the following day.

I remember Michael Palin getting a suit made on around the world in 80 day in Hing Kong in a day like in this story.

I read the first collection from Murado and loved it but it was a couple of years ago when I had a bad patch blogging so I never got round to it so I am pleased to have finally got to him. This is a universal collection of its themes. we see  Loss, inner strength, love, facing death, celebrating life although dying how we all deal with the extremes of life. This is a collection that shows how small the world is really from China to Japan, to London(a story of two Galician children attending a wake). This as I always say is why we have small press those collections that would never get published otherwise Murado has won many writing  prizes in Spain but not one of the big ones.