When the BCNegra literary festival presented the Pepe Carvalho prize to Don Winslow (New York, 1953) in February a year ago, no one could imagine that the literary end of one of the kings of criminal literature was near. The author didn’t even take two months to announce that he was retiring. Of course, out of respect for his hundreds of thousands of readers, he assured that he would end the trilogy that began with Ciudad en llamas, and which he described at the time as a version of the modern Iliad. The second part, Ciudad de los sueños, is now in bookstores, a novel that follows Danny Ryan in his escape from Providence (Rhode Island) after a bloody war between mobsters. His goal: to have a peaceful life with his child and his father.
Penultimate book of his career. how does it feel
I can’t find the words. A mixture of sadness, because the end of my time as a writer is approaching, and happiness, to see that this trilogy, which I started 28 years ago, is finished.
Has the third book already been written, then?
Written and sent to editors, but readers will have to wait. It’s strange. From the age of five I wanted to write and I succeeded, but now I won’t do it anymore. Not like until now.
Is there no way to go back?
never say never But for now my decision is firm.
And what led him to make this decision?
A bunch of things. I was fully focused on this trilogy when a series of political changes occurred in the United States that made me feel danger close at hand. I started creating videos in which I analyzed what was happening. I dedicate myself to telling stories, and this was another way of telling one, the one that was happening around me.
And I understand that this is what he will continue to do.
I want to get more involved in political activism. I feel that the situation we are living in the country is urgent and that right now I help much more in this role than as a writer. The videos I post on social media reach a lot of people and I want to think they raise awareness.
What can you say about the new book? Although it talks about the mafia, the beginning of the trilogy was inspired by the Trojan War. What part of history are we in now?
I have written from the beginning to the middle of the Aeneid. My intention was to follow Aeneas throughout his life. An Eneas who I call Danny and who runs from mobsters and police.
What challenges have you encountered?
Finding a modern equivalent to what had already been written centuries ago. What is a Trojan Horse in Providence? Who is Aphrodite and who is the Queen of Carthage?
And wasn’t it a challenge for him to get the second part of a trilogy going? They say the middle book is the most complicated.
right Yes it was. In the second books it is decided whether the story continues and ends, or if, on the contrary, it dies.
In this novel the protagonist makes the most iconic journey in the United States: he heads to California for a new beginning.
Iconic and at the same time personal. I left home at 17, traveled the world and settled in California for a while. My character does something similar, though for very different reasons. And it ends up in Hollywood.
And what is a gang of mobsters doing there?
Since the thirties, the mafia has always influenced the film industry. I was interested in the symbiotic relationship between gangsters and filmmakers. Movies have always been interested in the life of mobsters and mobsters have always shown an interest in cinema.
Running away with a child in your arms and an old man with dementia is not easy.
For nothing in the world. You have to hide, but at the same time make breakfast, look after your father, educate a child. And all this while being chased by people who want to kill or arrest you. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone. And that’s why I also talk about love in all its forms. I haven’t written much about it in my career.
For the challenge, to get out of the mafia.
It is not easy, but it is possible. The mafia is losing more and more power and influence, and this is because the younger generations do not want to continue with the family legacy.
Is this a hint about the next book?
I can only say that the relationship between the protagonist and his son will be deepened. That and we’ll see a billionaire Danny in Las Vegas. And I’ve already talked a lot.
