Vallvey, Ángela 1964–

PERSONAL: Born 1964, in San Lorenzo, Ciudad Real, Spain.

ADDRESSES: Home—Spain. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Seven Stories Press, 140 Watts St., New York, NY 10013.

CAREER: Writer of poetry and juvenile and adult fiction.

AWARDS, HONORS: Jaén Poetry Award, Spain, 1998, for El tamaño del universo; Nadal Award, Spain, 2002, for Los estados carenciales.

WRITINGS:

El tamaño del universo (poems; title means "The Size of the Universe"), Hiperion (Madrid, Spain) 1998.

A la caza del ultimo hombre salvaje (novel), Emece Editores (Barcelona, Spain), 1999, reprinted, Siete Cuentos Editorial (New York, NY), 2001, translation by Margaret Jull Costa published as Hunting the Last Wild Man, Seven Stories Press (New York, NY), 2002.

Vias de extincion (novel), Emece Editores (Barcelona, Spain), 2000.

Los estados carenciales (novel; title means "The Deficient States"), Ediciones Destino (Barcelona, Spain), 2002.

No lo llames amor, Ediciones Destino (Barcelona, Spain), 2003.

Young adult fiction includes (translated) The Sentimental Life of Bugs Bunny.

SIDELIGHTS: Spanish writer Ángela Vallvey is the author of fiction for children and young adults, poetry, and adult fiction. Her first work to be translated for English audiences is the novel A la caza del ultimo hombre salvaje. A Kirkus Reviews contributor called the translation, Hunting the Last Wild Man, "a raucous debut." The protagonist, Candela, lives in an all-female household with her five sisters, mother, and aunt. Her youngest sister has recently returned home after discovering that her husband has been making porn films, casting himself in the lead roles. Candela works in comparative quiet in a mortuary, where she begins working on the body of Joaquin, a gypsy patriarch who is to be buried with his hat and cane. In preparing him, Candela makes a discovery that could change her life. The Kirkus Reviews writer concluded by describing the novel as "funny, fresh, and briskly written: a good story by a quick study."

Vallvey received the Nadal Award for her novel Los estados carenciales. The names of the main characters, Ulises and Penelope, are just one of the many indications in the novel of the author's admiration for classical literature. Penelope left her husband and her son, Telemaco, when the boy was a baby. She represents the contemporary Spanish woman who rejects the idea that a woman can find fulfillment only within marriage. World Literature Today contributor Luis Larios Ven-drell noted that it is with the female characters that "Vallvey's craft becomes evident. Some of these scenes are really comical and reveal the advances achieved by Spanish women since 1975."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2002, review of Hunting the Last Wild Man, p. 138.

Publishers Weekly, February 11, 2002, review of Hunting the Last Wild Man, p. 161.

World Literature Today, July-September, 2003, Luis Larios Vendrell, review of Los estados carenciales, p. 146.