Javier Cercas

“The foremost Spanish author.” Garth Risk Hallberg, The New York Times / “The greatest living author.” Aldo Cazullo, Il Corriere della Sera / “I consider Javier Cercas one of the finest writers in our language.” Mario Vargas Llosa, El País

The most lucid, dazzling texts by a writer of international stature, finally collected together in an anthology that makes for compulsive reading.

No callar tackles everything from the hottest defining issues of the current historical moment (populism, post-truth and fake news, storytelling, surveillance capitalism, threats to democracy, new authoritarianisms) to their repercussions in the Spanish world (a review of the Transition and the Civil War, the disorientation of the left, the discredit of the institutions, partocracy, the lack of consensus, etc.), and the local manifestations of all this, such as Catalan secessionism.

These "readings of the present", which exemplify Javier Cercas' social awareness and commitment, are complemented by intelligent reflections on the value of journalism and Spanish and international literary life, together with memorable portraits of personalities from cinema, music, sports and literature. Thus, this anthology offers a brilliant analysis of this day and age, while also constituting a personal manifesto on the issues that matter most to us, written by one of the most relevant European authors.

“Cercas' book is honest. Do you know anything more important that shapes a person's thinking?” El Periódico

“A inimitable voice. [...] A voice that has made Javier Cercas a classic of contemporary journalism because it propounds a new form of awareness.” Babelia, El País

“The author of Soldiers of Salamis delivers a profound, solidly articulated writing and doesn't shy away, on the contrary, from controversy, which adds liveliness. [...] A remarkable book.” Culturas, La Vanguardia

“No callar is equivalent to Kafka's letters and diaries, or David Foster Wallace's essays, or the compilations of articles by Mario Vargas Llosa himself. Its pages not only invite us to delve into the intellectual intricacies of one of the most lucid and erudite minds of our time, but also serve as a compass to explore what lies beneath the literary map of one of the finest Spanish-language writers of recent decades.” Jot Down