«I am interested in the emotional tear as literary raw material»

«I am interested in the emotional tear as literary raw material»

The Catalan writer Cristina Campos. / ©CARLOS RUIZ BK

The Barcelona author presented in Gran Canaria last Thursday 'Stories of married women', a novel with which she was a finalist for the Planet

Victoriano Suarez Alamo

The writer Cristina Campos was last Thursday for the third time in Gran Canaria, thanks to the
#NoSoloLibros cycle that takes place at the State Public Library. She did it to present her novel 'Stories of married women', with which she managed to be a finalist for the 2022 Planeta Prize, which was awarded to Luz Gabás, who also presented her winning volume with her. Campos previously visited the island for two shoots, the first was 'Rec 4', the horror film directed by his partner, Jaume Balagueró. The second was on the occasion of the filming of the adaptation of his novel, 'Lemon bread with poppy seeds', in Guía, under the direction of the Andalusian Benito Zambrano.

-What inspired you this novel starring Gabriela along with her co-workers Silvia and Cósima? Does the idea come from her own environment?

-Why look outside of myself when very close friends, over 45, live stories of separation, love and heartbreak? What interests me a lot is the emotional tear. I always say that love is the literary raw material, but I am going to correct it and say that it is heartbreak. A friend of mine was falling in love with her lover and she was telling me with tears in her eyes, not with euphoria. That's where it all started.

«First I have the structure and then the embellishment of the language»

-Did you think about the story a lot or was the development of 'Historia de mujeres casadas' clear from the beginning?

-I make a very closed script, like those of movies or television series. Literature comes later. First I have the structure and then the embellishment of the language.

How do you define the novel?

-Like an intimate, contemporary novel that borders on the erotic novel but is not an erotic novel. It is an intimate novel that addresses female intimacy.

-The novel deals with desire, a feeling that due to the traditional education that those of middle age and upwards have had, it seems that we always have to keep a short leash and even repress it...

-Passion and desire are uncontrollable. They are dangerous. wish, wish You can't control yourself and that loss of control of yourself interests me a lot as a storyteller. I am attracted to delve into the loss of control of the human being due to his feelings. This is what happens to Gabriela's character. She loses control of her life.

-Getting carried away is sometimes the best but, especially on a social level, it can be devastating.

-Clear. If Gabriela had not taken that step, she would be thinking about it at 80 years old. The same has been worth it to have lived it, even if it hurt. She was brave in making that decision. She said to herself: where am I staying, in the serenity of everyday life or play? Of course, the game of desire is dangerous.

-Do you share the idea that your novel makes readers reflect on all those conventions that hold us back?

-I am finding a lot of empathy in the readers. What married man has not come across someone interesting in life? And backwards. Interesting men and women don't cease to exist because you got married. What happens is that you don't look at them the same. You have no interest in them until it happens. A lot of female readers, especially, are coming up to me and telling me that this is their own story.

-Can we also talk about a book that portrays how on a social level male infidelity is seen in a different way than female infidelity?

-The novel constantly plays with the difference between the two. The ability of man to lead a double life. Friends have told me. They play with a woman's inability to separate sex from feeling. However, men can do it.

-Why does that happen?

-Because of the inability that we women have to separate the sex from the feeling. She is a bitch. I wish I could, because we would enjoy sex so much more. I think it's a woman's condition.

Was it difficult for you to write the most erotic scenes in the novel? Did it have to be stopped or was it a natural process?

-It was fun. I leaned a lot on Megan Maxwell's erotic novel. I read erotic novel but I pass it to the truth. I have the same vocation as that type of author to excite, but from the truth. I'm a big reader of that genre.

-Did you think about the book a lot, was the writing process complex with many variations and pruning?

-Yes of course. Three years of my life were locked in his writing. Writing is a very lonely process. I write very fast, but I rewrite very slowly. I lived during all that time between the schizophrenia of my characters and my life.

-Was the first draft very different from the volume that has reached bookstores?

-No, it was nailed. I write with a very closed rundown. I think about it a lot before I start writing. It's easier for me. I know other authors who don't work like that. My mind is so crazy and creative that if I don't have it closed, everything escapes me.

- Could 'History of married women' be adapted to the cinema?

-Yes. There are several producers and platforms interested. But hey... I want to find the producer and the director that treats it with the sensitivity that I would like. Treat him with the truth and not go in search of morbidity. Let them treat sex like that. It requires a deliberate choice.

- Is it clear that the film would have to be directed by a woman?

-Yes. No man is going to run it. Put it big. I said it in my first novel too, but she was a rookie... Now I want her to be a woman.

-Were you satisfied with the film adaptation of 'Lemon bread with poppy seeds' directed by Benito Zambrano?

-It is a precious film, but it is not my novel. Many readers loved it and I repeat, I thought it was a beautiful film, but it is not my novel. What would have happened if it had been directed by a woman? There were four leading women directed by a man and that is difficult for me.

Are you already working on a new novel?

-Yes and put it please. I'm looking for a co-writer for 'Married Men's Stories'. I want to co-write it. Let's see if they call me. I have a lot of fun co-writing. I find what the scriptwriters who sign as Carmen Mola, who won the Planet last year, do very attractive. Let's see if after this interview one of them calls me to co-write with me! I wish!