J. Á. González Sainz was born in Soria (1956) and has lived in cities such as Barcelona (where he graduated in Philology), Madrid, Padua and above all Venice and Trieste. He is currently the cultural director of the Antonio Machado International Centre (CIAM). Anagrama has published the novels Un mundo exasperado (Herralde Novel Prize): «The absolute conviction that time will play in his favour and that in a few years we will speak of this work as we do today of El Jarama, Tiempo de silencio or the work of Juan Benet» (Salvador Clotas, Letra Internacional); Volver al mundo: «A novel of extraordinary depth that in its vastness seems to want to embrace the totality of reality» (Claudio Magris, Corriere della Sera); «A novel to take your hat off to» (Santos Sanz Villanueva, Revista de Libros); «Two decades after its first publication, this masterful novel is confirmed as an inescapable modern classic» (Juan Marqués, La Lectura); «The novel exudes aesthetic and moral exquisiteness» (Inger Enkvist, Letras de Parnaso); and Ojos que no ven: «I finish the book in a certain state of sleepwalking and return to the first page to look more carefully at its meticulous construction. I always remember Cyril Connolly: literature is something that has to be read at least twice» (Antonio Muñoz Molina, El País). Also published in this collection are the short story collections Los encuentros and El viento en las hojas, and the first volume of a book that is difficult to classify, La vida pequeña. El arte de la fuga: «Un colección de reflexiones en búsqueda de la conciencia» (Félix de Azúa, El País)»; «No libro más necesitado» (Alberto González Troyano, Diario de Sevilla); «Its pages contain some of the principles of wisdom that can keep us away from the “black holes” that lead to stupidity and help us recover the small life of the loves we lose» (Ana Calvo, El Debate); «A brilliant book, for its writing and for its luminous capacity, that would be a good idea to always carry in your pocket» (Sergio del Molino, El País). His most recent work is Por así decir (As it were).
