Manuel Vilas

When sexual fantasy becomes a path of no return.

“The luminous gift will come from the Universe and sweep the world away. I can see it.”

Víctor Dilan is a successful writer moving freely through a prosaic and vulgar Spain. Devoted to sex and endowed with a dark gift — a luminous blessing — he possesses an irresistible magnetism that draws women inexorably to his bed. His life takes a dramatic turn when he meets Ester, the Witch, “a carnivorous incandescence that drives men mad.” This miraculous encounter forces him to face a reflection of himself, harder and more perverse, marking the beginning of an apocalyptic relationship that will lead him toward a longed-for, prophetic destruction.

The reader, turned voyeur, explores the darkest and most intimate corners of a handful of unbridled, lascivious characters entirely surrendered to sex. Weaving together multiple layers of fiction, Manuel Vilas offers a parodic meditation on the nature of love and eroticism, which here acquire a mystical dimension. With a soundtrack by Dylan (whose name inspires the protagonist’s pseudonym) and lucid invocations of masterpieces such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Wuthering Heights, Víctor Dilan’s descent into madness feels like the most sincere and heartbreaking of confessions. A lucid vision of the world—or a hallucinatory one?

With The Luminous Gift, Manuel Vilas opens a new, realist path in his narrative by telling a story in the traditional mode.

“The Luminous Gift contains excellent pages […] Vilas’s literary talent cannot be denied.” Ricardo Senabre, El Cultural

“What distinguishes the author from his contemporaries in today’s innovative fiction is his distance from pretentious cosmopolitanism and his unashamedly Spanish rootedness—lucid, critical, and universal in scope.” Santos Sanz Villanueva, El Cultural

“Vilas is a great poet and, as such, immortal—he lives within time. This condition allows him to speak as an equal with artists who share it: Kafka, Van Gogh, and Picasso.” Jordi Puntí, El Periódico de Catalunya

“Manuel Vilas is probably the most dangerous writer in Spain right now. Dangerous in the sense of singular, independent, and resistant to every convention.” Javier Calvo, Quimera

“To say Manuel Vilas is to name the king of celebration, freedom, and fun. A wild storyteller who writes novels as if they were something else—and would do anything not to die of boredom.” Peio H. Riaño, Público

“One of the most creative narrators in the realm of humor writing today in Spanish.” J. M. Pozuelo Yvancos, ABC Cultural

“No one can deny Vilas—not only the narrative stamina of an elite athlete—but also a generous sense of humor and boldness, deeply nourished by tradition.” Manuel de la Fuente, ABC