Esther Tusquets

Esther Tusquets was a Spanish writer and publisher who combined a sensuous use of language with bitter social satire. She was born in Barcelona, a port city of the Catalan region, Spain, on August 30, 1936, to a family of wealthy aristocrats. Her brother is the architect Òscar Tusquets. She studied philosophy, literature and history at the University of Barcelona. She also traveled to Mexico, where she wrote for several newspapers. Tusquets was a prominent figure in the Spanish Modernist movement, which sought to break away from the realism and naturalism of the 19th century and explore new forms of expression. She wrote novels, plays, and short stories that experimented with different genres and styles, such as symbolism, expressionism, grotesque comedy, and historical fiction. She also created her own literary genre, the esperpento, which distorted reality to expose its absurdity and ugliness. Some of her most famous works are El mismo mar de todos los veranos (The Same Sea as Every Summer) in 1978, El amor es un juego solitario (Love is a Solitary Game) in 1979 and Varada tras el último naufragio (Stranded) in 1980. These novels form a trilogy that explores the themes of love, sexuality, identity, memory, and death from a lesbian perspective. They also reflect her personal experiences as a woman in a patriarchal society. Tusquets was also known for her role as a publisher. She took over the management of the publishing house Lumen in 1960, which was founded by her father. She transformed Lumen into one of the most prestigious and influential publishing houses in Spain, introducing authors such as Marguerite Yourcenar, Simone de Beauvoir, Doris Lessing, Virginia Woolf, and Gabriel García Márquez to the Spanish readers. She also published her own works under Lumen. Tusquets had Parkinson's disease for several years. She died of pneumonia at the age of 75 in Barcelona on July 23, 2012. She is regarded as one of the most original and innovative writers of Spanish literature.