Elena Castedo

CRITICAL OPINIONS, SPAIN (Note: some periodicals reviewed more than once, or have the same name in different provinces).

- ABC, “Critical opinion has been unanimous: Solita, as well as the language and the novel's structure place Elena Castedo at the forefront of our fiction writers."

- El Correo, "deft handling of the art of fiction... a laudable linguistic variety."

- El Tiempo, "Critics have been overwhelmingly positive and it's a great surprise to find a novel and a novelist of this stature in our times, when what passes for literature is so often superficial and lacking in great moral or ideological probing.”

- ?? J. Marco, "novel full of symbols and very accomplished in its use of discourse... a prose that's juicy, full of argot, poetic and highly skilled. The plot is subtle... the inner character development gets ever more rich and complex. Full of symbolism, efficacious in its language and its structure, psychologically coherent."

- El Mundo, "a surprising realism... knows how to tell a story vividly and with humor, to extract irony, never a false move mars the credibility. The narration is fluid."

- El Heraldo de Aragon, "to the bursts of humor, the wise elegance of the author, add sincerity."

- El Sol, "it excels due to the lucid profile of its protagonist, the richness of her intuitions and reactions, the penetrating and authentic perspectives... the luxuriant and billowing dialogues."

- El Pais, "the skill of its narrative voice."

- Las Provincias, "very well constructed. Belongs to the clan of unforgettable stories, enters the lineage tree of good novels."

- Diario de Ibiza, seduces us for its spontaneity... has managed to approach with skill a difficult and risky subject."

- ABC, "an exuberant Castellan language... a character who will be unforgettable for the reader... has managed to portray a complex figure... intuitive, sensible, analytic... a rich prose... a brilliant linguistic provocation."

- Diario 16, successfully takes its time to describe sensations... a kind of ceremony of initiation very well carried by the narrative, which describes with equal spontaneity, efficacy and distance... evolves musically. simple elegance.... looks incisively under a benevolent humor."

- El Mundo, "Paradise found at the first effort... experience narrated magnificently... adorned with elements that are funny or heart rendering... intelligently puts distance to the painful recollection."

- El Periodico de Aragon, "Castedo, the revelation of the times, reconstructs... a personal and intimate history of Spain."

- El Independiente, "Deeply moving and evocative, sometimes cruel, other times startling."

- El Independiente, "meticulous linguistic oeuvre... the novel never falters and maintains at all times its high caliber... manages to draw a neat ideological framework."

- El Independiente, "a novel with all the strength of expression, all the will to find truth."
- El Independiente, "one of the most precious examples of the unending ramifications of the Spanish language."

- Tribuna, "it also has a structure meticulous to its last detail, like those Chinese boxes that fit perfectly inside others."

- Hola, "A formidable book, which is already almost a legend, and has unleashed showers of brilliant articles."

- La Nueva España, the prose flows free and impetuous. belongs to the family of those stories that will be always remembered."

- El Pais and Diario 16 paraphrase: "It would be difficult to find a more appropriate phrase to describe [Paradise] than `the author found paradise on her first try.'"

- LATIN AMERICA
Chile: La Tercera, La Epoca, Las Ultimas Noticias, La Segunda, Diario Financiero, La Cuarta, Analisis, La Nacion, Resena, Vanidades, Paula, Caras, El Mercurio: "Constructed in several stylistic levels, it promises to be a classic in the history of literature." "Be prepared to be delighted, impatient, surprised and laugh with a fiction form that is not magic realism or realism, but simply intelligent, poetic, truthful and fabulous." "It's been years since we've read a novel so creative, subtle, warm, human, brisk, refreshing, delicate and disturbing." "Wins us with one stroke of vivid mastery." "A narrative feat, a solid, concise prose." "A character credible beyond measure who has dazzled critics with the oldest and honest of methods: the language." "Has reached heights not achieved until now by a modern Spanish writer," "A rare blaze glowing in the literary world."