Rosa Montero

An unclassifiable hybrid work, a mixture of essay and fiction, along the lines of her successful book La ridícula idea de no volver a verte.

After a lifetime devoted to literature and reflection on her own idiosyncrasies, Rosa Montero embarks on this journey in search of traits shared with other writers. Are writing and madness the two sides of the same coin? Is there something in the minds of writers that sets them apart from everyone else? Are there people, whether professional artists or not, whose brains work differently from the majority? To answer these questions, the author draws not only on the memoirs and biographical studies of the literary greats, but also on neuroscientific research, her own experience and a few snippets of imagination. The answers make up a brilliant, poetic, moving and informative text that takes us to the very heart of reality, to the meaning of death and life.

“An incandescent, wise, brilliant book.” Héctor Abad- Faciolince, El Espectador

“For the interest of people who inhabit the circles of creativity and oddity, Montero's book will incite and deeply move the majority of those who read it.” Claudia Piñeiro, Infobae

“A book that absorbs and grips the reader.” Juan José Millás, El País

“A perfect synthesis and the culmination of the best of Rosa Montero's work [...] one of the literary milestones of 2022.” Manuel Rodríguez Rivero, Babelia, El País

“A book to get people to read books again.” Juan Cruz, El Periódico de España

“A perfect read.” Nadal Suau, El Cultural

“Those of us who have felt strange, awkward, painfully sensitive, extravagant, the riders of an unbridled imagination, enthusiasts with sudden descents into the gloomiest discouragement, will find a mirror and an explanation in this book.” Irene Vallejo

“An enthralling essay where reality and fiction take each other by the hand in perfect conjunction, as if it were a narrative dance.” Inés Martín Rodrigo, ABC

 “A documented review of the disorders, psychoses and irrationality that a major part of the population suffers from, and that all those authors that Montero has studied for decades have endured. A full-frontal exploration of her own mental health.” Berna González Harbour, El País Semanal

“Un essai-roman passionnant autour de la folie des artistes, terrible mais nécessaire.” Transfuge

“Très spécial, profond et ébouriffant, vital…” La Tribune Dimanche

“Rosa Montero est au sommet de son art” Paris Normandie

“Puissante ode à la déraison salvatrice !!!” Baz’art

“Un voyage qui n'a rien d'une folie.”  La Vie

“Elle se dévore comme un polar cette étude sur la folie, allant des bizarreries aux troubles psychiques avec, dans le rôle de l’enquêtrice, la romancière elle-même qui, en matière de manies et de crises de panique, sait de quoi elle parle. […] Jamais triste ou sombre, le livre, au contraire, se veut une invitation joyeuse à explorer le sens profond de la vie à travers nos démons.” Isabelle Potel, Madame Figaro