Manuel de Pedrolo, born in 1918 in rural Catalonia, later moved to Barcelona, where he worked in publishing and as a private detective, until he was able to devote himself to writing and translating. Committed to socialism, women’s liberation and Catalan independence, he constantly had problems with Franco’s censors because of the political statements and eroticism in his books. An incredibly versatile author with a vast body of work, Manuel de Pedrolo explored experimental prose, science fiction, and crime, among other genres. He admired such authors as Faulkner and Henry Miller and was influenced by existentialism. His Typescript of the Second Origin, which has sold over two million copies, and has been translated into more than 10 languages, is one of the most widely read Catalan novels of the 20th century: a dystopian tale of the extermination and rebirth of humanity
«Many of his novels are written in innovative or experimental styles inspired by sources as diverse as American crime fiction, Franz Kafka, Jean-Paul Sartre, and the French noveau roman.»
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