The Mystery of the Enchanted Crypt

About the Book

Released from an asylum to help with a police enquiry, the quick–witted and foul–smelling narrator, Gonewiththewind, delves deep into the underworld of 1970s Barcelona to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a teenage girl from a convent school.

Helped only by his ageing prostitute sister and the voluptuous nymphomaniac, Mercedes, the narrator’s investigations take him deeper into a mystery involving murdered sailors, suicidal daughters, a web of organised crime and a secret, underground crypt.

Both gripping and surprising, The Mystery of the Enchanted Crypt, is a hilarious detective story.

About the Author

Eduardo Mendoza was born in 1943 in Barcelona. He spent some years in New York working as an interpreter for the United Nations before returning to his native city. Widely considered to be one of Spain's leading contemporary novelists, he has won many literary prizes internationally. His works include No Word from Gurb (Telegram), The Mystery of the Enchanted Crypt (Telegram), City of Marvels and The Year of the Flood.

About the Translator

Nicholas Caistor is former Latin American editor of Index on Censorship magazine and broadcasts regularly on Latin American literature and art. He is the author of Octavio Paz (Reaktion, 2006), editor of two anthologies, and has translated many novels by Latin American and Spanish authors, including Juan Marse, Juan Carlos Onetti, Sergio Ramirez, Jose Saramago and Osvaldo Soriano.

Reviews

‘Eduardo Mendoza is one of contemporary Spain's most important writers.’
New York Times

‘For sheer descriptive writing he is unrivalled.’
André Clavel

‘Wonderfully inventive and hilarious.’
The Times

'An accomplished literary novelist who knows how to entertain.'
Kirkus Reviews