Los ultimos anos de la vida de Maurice Ravel transcurren entre 1927 y 1937. Con una escritura a caballo entre el jazz y la narrativa cinematografica, Echenoz despliega un retrato ficticio del compositor sembrado de verdades biograficas: son reales la epopeya en Verdun, las sesenta camisas y los veinticinco pijamas de la gira americana o los encuentros con Douglas Fairbanks, Charles Chaplin o George Gershwin. Pero lo esencial no esta en la vida del hombre, sino en la sutil pero lacerante ironia con que es narrada esa vida. Aqui reencontramos los temas favoritos del escritor: la desaparicion, el viaje y los conflictos de identidad que caracterizan a los protagonistas de sus novelas. Y el verdadero Ravel acaba siendo uno de los mas esplendidos personajes del imaginario de Echenoz. / The last years of Maurice Ravel occurred between1927 and 1937. With a writing that channels jazz and cinematographic narrative, Echenoz undertakes a fictional portrait of the composer full of biographical truths: the epic events in Verdun, the sixty shirts, the twenty five pairs of pajamas from the American tour and the encounters with Douglas Fairbanks, Charles Chaplin and George Gershwin. But the essential aspect of this book isnt in the details of his life, it is in the subtle but lacerating irony with which he tells the tale. This is where we find the authors favorite themes: disappearance, travel and the conflicts of identity that characterize the protagonists of his novels. And the real Ravel becomes one of the most splendid characters of his imagination.
