Amarillo

«It is not a sad book, and there is not a single drop of sentimentalism in it, nor is there any hint of delight in the cheating legend of the evil writer; what there is – almost the only thing there is – is a joyful and secret celebration of youth, friendship and literature, which is the same as saying a secret and joyful celebration of life. That was, maybe, the true question. It is called Amarillo and has just been published by Plot in a beautiful edition with yellow covers». Javier Cercas, El País

(Yellow) 1992, three young people from Saragossa, childhood friends, live in Barcelona. One of them commits suicide by throwing himself out of the window. His name is Chusé Izuel and he is 24 years old, a writer and literary critic. The other friends, Bizén and Félix, have had to live with his death since then.

Félix is Félix Romeo, and on the back cover of Amarillo he says: “This is the book of the perfect crime.  It is about memory, about the impossibility of remembering, about the impossibility of writing books about life that are real. About the four things I remember of you. And above all it is a book about the thousands of things I do not remember of you and the thousands of things I don’t know about you, and I want to remain not knowing. It all start with a question: how could I not have realised you were going to kill yourself? From this question emerges another: why was I so relieved at your death? From this question there emerges yet another: am I responsible for your death? And from this, the last question emerges: why have I spent years carrying with me a terrible sense of guilt for your death? “

(Spain, Plot)