Retrato do autor

Joaquín Pérez Azaústre

Autor(a) de The Swimmers

15 Works 39 Membros 4 Críticas

About the Author

Obras por Joaquín Pérez Azaústre

The Swimmers (2012) 18 exemplares
Un nageur dans la ville (2015) 3 exemplares
El gran Felton (2006) 2 exemplares
Carta a isadora (2001) 2 exemplares
El querido hermano (2023) 2 exemplares
Corazones en la oscuridad (2016) 1 exemplar
LUCENA SEFARDI (2005) 1 exemplar
Poemas del claustro (2011) 1 exemplar
Las Ollerias (2011) 1 exemplar
Delta (2004) 1 exemplar

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Sexo
male

Membros

Críticas

Jonás nada cada mediodía y cuando comienza a encadenar brazadas, al otro lado de la vidrieras de la planta de arriba del pabellón unas sombras esbeltas parecen observarlo. La natación es el vínculo de Jonás con su vida anterior: casi no ve a sus padres, divorciados, y no tiene más familia. Una mañana, queda con su padre, un inspector de policía jubilado, que le cuenta que su madre ha desaparecido: lleva dos meses sin contestar al teléfono, ha ido a su piso y lo ha encontrado vacío, aunque sin signo alguno de violencia o desorden. Simplemente no está. A partir de entonces, Jonás comienza a escuchar historias similares sobre gente que desaparece: hombres y mujeres, niños y ancianos esfumados de pronto, mientras la ciudad sigue manteniendo su aparente normalidad. Tras su incredulidad inicial, decide buscar a su madre, mientras va descubriendo su propio miedo a desaparecer.… (mais)
 
Assinalado
Natt90 | 2 outras críticas | Feb 7, 2023 |
"En enero de 1977, bajo la presidencia de Adolfo Suárez y tras el referéndum del 15 de diciembre, se promulgó la Ley 1/1977 para la Reforma Política. Franco había muerto dos años antes y la ciudadanía se pronunciaba a favor de la democracia de partidos, la libertad y la amnistía para los presos políticos, pero las estructuras de la Dictadura se resistían a perder sus privilegios. La noche del 24, un comando de extrema derecha irrumpió en un despacho de jóvenes abogados laboralistas de Madrid, militantes del Partido Comunista. Fue en el número 55 de la calle Atocha, en Madrid. Atocha 55, novela ganadora del V Premio Albert Jovell, pone el foco en los rostros y voces de aquellos letrados.… (mais)
 
Assinalado
bcacultart | Sep 28, 2020 |
Joaquin Perez Azaustre's novel is not for the faint of heart. It is a story of a character experiencing a gradual dissociation as the demands of urban life impinge on a sensitive artistic photographer, Jonas. After stressful events that contribute to his health problems (panic attacks and asthma) Jonas begins to notice a social separation, a disappearance of acquaintances, friends, and family. Living in a new part of the city after his wife divorces him, Jonas struggles to maintain equilibrium in a world that is becoming devoid of people he can relate to. As he becomes increasingly isolated from people, he feels relaxed only in a city pool immersing himself in the water swimming laps in parallel with other swimmers with minimal interaction. He notices the pool gradually empties over the days of his visits. His lifelong friend and fellow swimmer, Sergio attempts to draw Jonas back from his increasing isolation and emotional disconnection by continuing to meet him for weekly swims.

Jonas becomes interested again in his artistic photography that he abandoned as he concentrated on his photo journalist job for a city newspaper. This is possible because he is getting fewer paid assignments as he fails to meet his obligations, taking uninteresting photos and not showing up at designated news scenes. The renewed artistic interest focuses on the obsession Jonas has with the moments in people's lives that occur when their threatening life experiences teeter on the razor's edge of time and they have immediate mixed feelings of possibility and determinism. Jonas believes if he can freeze these exact moments, he can have peace without further action. During his swims in the amniotic fluid of the pool, the photographer feels a separate peace of freedom of movement without the requirement of interpersonal action.

As Jonas continues to dissociate from reality, he loses track of an increasing number of people, including his mother and a fellow more artistic photographer. His memories, rich in symbolism, dominate his consciousness. Archetypes of Man, Woman, Birth, Death, and Infinity determine his behavior anchored by the peace of his regression to the solace of the city swimming pool. Jonas's unconscious urge to review his life brings up numerous razor's edge experiences from his past that offered opportunities to take action, only to be missed by his snapshot observation of people rather than an artistic and prescient capture of their lives. Like Goethe's Faust, however, there was one moment in his life when he did capture with his camera a social event so sweet and full that he wishes he could stay within its moment forever.

This is an excellent novel, reminiscent of the work of Verlaine, Proust, and Kafka. Immerse yourself in this book (if you dare) and you will see your own gradual slipping away from reality and view your own missed opportunities on the razor's edge of past time.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
GarySeverance | 2 outras críticas | Oct 6, 2013 |
 
Assinalado
Ana_Biblio | 2 outras críticas | Aug 13, 2013 |

Estatísticas

Obras
15
Membros
39
Popularidade
#376,657
Avaliação
3.1
Críticas
4
ISBN
17
Línguas
2