Monzó, Quim

b. 1952, Barcelona

   Writer

   One of Catalan culture's most colourful characters, Monzó first burst onto the scene in 1976, with a novel entitled L'udol del griso al caire de les clavegueres (The Howl of the Wind Beside the Sewers), which won a major Catalan Prize. Based on the events and atmosphere surrounding the student riots in Paris in May 1968, the novel narrates the antics of young Catalans in Paris and London and their reactions to this time of political militancy and personal indulgence. While this first novel tends to mythicize the culture of the "1960s generation", subsequently Monzó has adopted a much more ironic perspective. It is this ironic humour for which he is best known, and which he employs to full effect in his collections of short stories. His narratives are original, laced with dry humour and often constructed around one central joke or startling resolution. They show a constant exploration of the possibilities of new form and themes, often use erotic scenes or sexual vocabulary, and are designed to provoke the reader into realizing that there exist many alternative ways of viewing the world. Other major publications include O'Clock (Olivetti, Moulinex, Chaffoteaux et Maury, 1980), Benzina (Petrol) (1983), La magnitud de la tragèdia (The Magnitude of the Tragedy) (1989) and El perquè de tot plegat (The Reason for Everything) (1993). Some of his work has been translated into Spanish and French, as well as English, and he has himself translated English-language literature into Catalan.

   Monzó had no significant academic background —he never finished his secondary education, and instead trained as a graphic designer—and so came to writing from a slightly unusual direction, heavily influenced by popular culture (including cinema, television and various forms of art). His literary influences include Latin American writers, especially Julio Cortázar, and the Catalan Pere Calders, whom he read purely for enjoyment. It was this "self-preparation" which led him to choose writing in general, and the short story in particular, as a medium for expression. However, Monzó"s activities have certainly not been confined to literary media. His work has taken him into areas as diverse as journalism, graphic design, advertising, song-writing, amateur cinema and radio. In his contributions to Avui and other newspapers, Monzó has consistently taken real events and treated them ironically or from highly original perspectives. Many of these events are related to Catalan culture and politics, on which he has strong views, as evidenced by his statement that "If you look at things coldly, you realise how much rubbish is spoken in the world of culture" (Cònsul 1988:41).

   Further reading

   - Cònsul, I. (1988) "Quim Monzó: Interview", Catalan Writing 1: 39–47 (interview followed by a chronology of Monzó"s life, a bibliography and translations of two short stories).

   KATHRYN CRAMERI