Side Effects, in Spanish: The Books of Almudena Solana

I am a huge fan of the Spanish writer Almudena Solana. Great news for me: I am finally meeting her this week after years of reading and re-reading her books (we became acquainted through emails back and forth). Bad news? Only one of her novels -- the marvelous The Curriculum Vitae of Aurora Ortiz -- has been translated into English. I reviewed her novel Las Mujeres Inglesas Destrozan Los Tacones Al Andar (English Women Destroy Their Heels By Walking) in 2011 in the hopes it might be translated; now I am trying again with her latest novel, Efectos Secundarios (Side Effects). I've attempted a review in Spanish and follow with the English version.

La ltima novela de Almudena Solana es una maravilla de la imaginacin y de la humanidad. En Efectos Secundarios el novelista espaol utiliza diez cualidades medicinales para explorar las profundidades internas de cada uno de sus personajes, nombrando a ellos despus de los medicamentos comunes. Por ejemplo, una mujer llamada Adiro puede entender cuando alguien est mintiendo; Nolotil es un mdico que tiene que aprender a decir "no": Augmentin est lleno de nostalgia de la infancia; Voltaren es lleno de s mismo; Paracetamol es un viejo que no puede recordar nada; y Ventolin es un joven saxofonista.

Incluso sin nombres propios, todos los personajes son muy reales y cada uno exige nuestra atencin y afecto. Al principio, yo no entenda cmo las historias de los distintos personajes se entrecruzan pero poco a poco todo se uni para formar una hermosa historia sobre la soledad, la familia, la amistad, el amor, el sexo, el dolor y el confort. Cmo se deletrea alivio? A travs del contacto humano.

Hay muchos mtodos (y algunos pueden decir los medicamentos) para obtener a travs de las dificultades de la vida - pero al final, es la relacin entre una persona y otra que da a los personajes la fuerza que necesitan.

Yo mismo aparezco en el libro, en la historia de una mujer que lee un libro al da durante un ao para hacer frente a una terrible tristeza. Fue durante este ao de terapia libro que le por primera vez Almudena Solana, cuando un da de la biblioteca eleg El Curriculum Vitae of Aurora Ortiz. Sent el toque humano en las palabras de Solana - y me sent mejor. No paracetamol para m: slo libros y ms libros. Gracias, Almudena, para el mejor alivio del dolor - las conexiones entre los seres humanos, la empata de una persona a otra.

Now in English:

The latest novel by Almudena Solana is a marvel of imagination and humanity. In Side Effects the Spanish novelist uses ten medicinal qualities to explore the inner depths of her characters, naming them after commonly prescribed drugs. For example, a woman named Adiro (a kind of aspirin) can understand when someone is lying; Nolotil (a pain reliever) is a physician who has to learn to say "no": Augmentin (an antibiotic) is full of nostalgia for childhood; Voltaren (an anti-inflammatory) is full of himself; Paracetamol (pain reliever) is an old man who can not remember anything; and Ventolin (a bronchodilator) is a young saxophonist.

Even without proper names, all the characters are very real and each demands our attention and affection. At first I did not understand how the stories of the different characters intersect but gradually everything came together to form a beautiful story about loneliness, family, friendship, love, sex, pain and comfort. How do you spell relief? Through human contact.

There are many methods (and some may say drugs) to get through the difficulties of life -- but in the end, is the relationship between one person and another that gives the characters the strength they need.

I also appear in the book, in the side mention of a woman reading a book a day for a year to deal with a terrible sadness. It was during this very real year of book therapy that I first read Almudena Solana, when one day in the library I chose The Curriculum Vitae of Aurora Ortiz. I felt the human touch in Solana's words - and I felt better. No paracetamol for me: just books and more books. Thanks, Almudena, for better pain relief - the connections between humans, empathy from one person to another.