El imitador de Dios

The 2011 Clarín Novel Award

Vieytes is an enigmatic character who exerts great power and influence over his acquaintances. Back in his native village after a prolonged disappearance, he wants for all the inhabitants of Providence to stage a play, where every one must play a different role than he or she habitually fulfills, with the village as a backdrop. According to Vieytes, it is a “juxtaposition of fictitious space and real space,” which he goes on to describe as “The play”, and ironically labels as “communal theater”. But only he knows the totality, the piece's ultimate sense and motivation. Not even Gauna, an old friend from secondary school-days, whom he summons after more than thirty years, so that he keep a daily log of the play, and who in turn will be compelled to investigate his old school friend's obscure nuances and coded messages. On Performance Day, Vieytes will interpret the role of a despotic god, pleased of his power that moves the strings of a performance which is totally incomprehensible to its participants. In this Borges-like context of reality and performance, in which life and death are questioned, an unexpected event will produce a general exodus, as well as raising questions, reflections and conjectures by those who, like Gauna, are involved in the project´s production.