Pedro Almodóvar

An intimate and mischievous story collection from legendary film director Pedro Almodóvar'A major literary talent’ KAVEH AKBAR, author of Martyr!'Akin to a Spanish Angela Carter' TELEGRAPHThe Last Dream brings together twelve stories from legendary film director Pedro Almodóvar’s personal archive. Delivering a tantalising glimpse into Almodóvar’s world, together they reflect his most intimate obsessions, as well as his daring evolution as an artist. Ranging from a beautiful chronicle of the death of Almodóvar’s mother in ‘The Last Dream’, to a love story between Jesus and Barabbas, a cult film director out in search of painkillers on a bank holiday weekend, the original story behind the film Bad Education, and a gothic tale of a repentant vampire, these mischievous stories delight and surprise. The Last Dream is a celebration of the relationship between life and art, fiction and reality, bursting with desire and playful humour.‘A heady mix of factual and fictitious, befitting of one of cinema’s most imaginative storytellers’ OBSERVER‘Keenly observed and spiritually sumptuous’ EMPIRETranslated by Frank Wynne*Readers love THE LAST DREAM*‘Dive into a world where vibrant characters and deep emotions come to life on the page’‘An intriguing blend of the personal, thoughts, his remarkable professional film career and more from the superb Pedro Almodóvar'‘Colourful characters and situations, a little madness. Warmth, humour and strangeness'‘Highly recommended’

Pedro Almodóvar (1949, Calzada de Calatrava) är en av Spaniens mest hyllade och originella filmskapare och en framträdande person inom modern europeisk kultur. Som ung lämnade han sin hemstad för att förverkliga sin dröm att göra film i Madrid. Hans verk kännetecknas av kontrover- siella, snudd på absurda, berättelser och unika porträtt av människan. Med Oscarsbelönade filmer som Allt om min mamma och Tala med henne har han nått internationell ryktbarhet. I Den sista drömmen framför han för första gången sina berättelser i novellform. I samlingen möter vi en kul- tregissör på jakt efter ångestdämpande, en ångerfull vampyr, en kärlekshistoria mellan Jesus och Barabbas och i den självbiografiska novellen som gett boken dess namn skriver Almodóvar om sin mors sista dag i livet. Den sista drömmen är Pedro Almodóvars första litterära verk, en rörande resa genom en av vår tids största berättares kreativa process. De tolv berättelserna ur hans arkiv utgör en hyllning till livet och konsten och avspeglar teman som familjeband, kärlek, skam och förlust. Att läsa Almodóvars noveller är som att titta på en av hans filmer och samtidigt läsa om hans liv. Istället för att vara en biografi i vanlig mening blandas fiktion och verklighet, galenskap och lugn, kärlek och hat, passion och ambition i en himmelsk röra som bara Almadóvar kan åstadkomma. Den sista drömmen är översatt till svenska av Linnea Rutström.

Legendaarne rezhissöör annab põneva võimaluse kiigata tema maailma kaheteistkümne 1960ndatest kuni tänapäevani ulatuva loo kaudu. Ta kirjutab: "Minult on rohkem kui üks kord palutud, et kirjutaksin oma autobiograafia, ja ma olen alati keeldunud. /--/ Ma ei ole kunagi päevikut pidanud ja kui olengi proovinud, pole ma teisest leheküljest kaugemale jõudnud, seega on see raamat omamoodi paradoks. See sarnaneb enim fragmentaarse, ebatäiusliku ja pisut krüptilise autobiograafiaga." PEDRO ALMODOVAR (s. 1949) kolis 1968. Aastal Madridi, et filmirezhissööriks õppida, aga kuna Franco rezhiim oli filmikooli sulgenud, tegi ta amatöörfilme, näitles, lõi koomikseid, kirjutas Patty Diphusa varjunime all artikleid ja laulis dragbändis. Oma esimese täispika filmi tegi ta 1980. aastal ning on olnud viljakas tänaseni, kujunedes tõeliseks kinolegendiks. Ta on saanud muuhulgas Cannes'i filmifestivali rezhissööriauhinna ja Oscari parima stsenaariumi eest.

A mischievous and genre-spanning story collection from legendary film director Pedro Almodóvar'Almodóvar’s mind seems to be reporting from another world to illuminate, clarify, and challenge our own’ KAVEH AKBAR'Akin to a Spanish Angela Carter' TELEGRAPHThe Last Dream brings together twelve unpublished stories from Almodóvar’s personal archive, written between the late sixties and the present day. Delivering a tantalising glimpse into Almodóvar’s world, this wildly inventive collection reflects his most intimate obsessions, as well as his daring evolution as an artist. Ranging from ‘The Last Dream’ - a beautiful chronicle of the death of Almodóvar’s mother - to a love story between Jesus and Barabbas;, a cult film director out in search of painkillers on a bank holiday weekend, the original story behind the film Bad Education, and a gothic tale of a repentant vampire, these stories delight and surprise. The Last Dream is a celebration of the relationship between life and art, fiction and reality from an artist unafraid to write about our most intimate moments. Translated by Frank Wynne*Readers love THE LAST DREAM*‘Dive into a world where vibrant characters and deep emotions come to life on the page’‘An intriguing blend of the personal, thoughts, his remarkable professional film career and more from the superb Pedro Almodóvar'‘Colourful characters and situations, a little madness. Warmth, humour and strangeness'‘Highly recommended’

A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2024Also available in audio featuring narration by Colman Domingo, Rachel Weisz, and Michael Cera." Instantly fascinating, brimming with twisting narratives and unforgettable endings... The Last Dream stands alone as a major literary talent's virtuosic debut." --Kaveh Akbar, New York Times bestselling author of Martyr " A] real page turner." --John WatersMaking his English language debut, the iconoclastic, two-time Academy award-winning writer and director reveals his singular mind as never before in this collection of twelve remarkable stories spanning memoir, comedy, autofiction, parody, pastiche, and gothic fiction. With this debut collection, film legend Pedro Almod var delivers a tantalizing glimpse into his world, formed by twelve stories carefully selected from his personal writings dating from the late '60s to the present. Almod var writes: "I've been asked to write my autobiography more than once, and I've always refused. . . . I've never kept a diary, and whenever I've tried, I've never made it to page two; in a sense, then, this book represents something of a paradox. It might be best described as a fragmentary autobiography, incomplete and a little enigmatic." Each entry reflects Almod var's most intimate obsessions, as well as his evolution as an artist. In the title story, "The Last Dream," Almod var reflects on the death of his mother. Other entries in the collection include a love story between Jesus and Barabbas, a story of retribution that formed the basis for the film Bad Education, a manic adventure about a film director searching for painkillers on a bank holiday weekend, and a gothic tale centered around a repentant vampire. Translated from the Spanish by Frank Wynne

El libro m s personal de Pedro Almod var: un autorretrato articulado en doce relatos que revelan su pasi n secreta por la escritura «Un libro de hallazgos. Que Almodovar era un gran escritor ya lo sab a, s lo hac a falta descubrir desde cuando. De la infancia hasta anteayer, su escritura nos lleva de la mano por un bosque sorprendente. Nacer al rev s, (al final), y vivir para atr s es s lo uno de sus talentos. Hay m s, avanzar tambi n como un tranv a (de deseo). Al leer estos relatos uno no sabe si ha sido invitado a su cabeza o a su alma. En cualquier caso, es un regalo. Y una dulce intromisi n .--Ray Loriga «Este libro es lo m s parecido a una autobiograf a fragmentada. ...] El lector acabar obteniendo la m xima informaci n de m como cineasta, como fabulador y el modo en que mi vida hace que una cosa y las otras se mezclen . As define el autor este volumen, en una brillante introducci n que sirve tambi n de puesta en perspectiva: los doce relatos que lo componen abarcan varias pocas, desde finales de la d cada de los sesenta hasta la actualidad, y en ellos se reflejan algunas de sus obsesiones m s ntimas, adem s de su evoluci n como artista. Los oscuros a os escolares, la influencia de la ficci n en la vida, los efectos inesperados del azar, la sofisticaci n del humor, los inconvenientes de la fama, la fascinaci n por los libros o la experimentaci n con los g neros narrativos son algunos de los temas que pueblan este libro imprescindible, que contiene m ltiples capas de lectura. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Pedro Almod var's most personal book: a self-portrait articulated in twelve tales that reveal his secret passion for writing. "A book of findings. That Almod var was a writer, that I already knew. We just needed to find out since when. From an early age up until the day before yesterday, his narrative takes us by the hand through an astonishing forest. To be born backwards (at the end) and to live backwards is just one of his talents. There are more--moving forward like a streetcar (of desire) too. By reading these tales, one does not know if it is an invitation to his head or his soul. Either way, it is a gift. And a sweet intrusion." --Ray Loriga "This book is the closest thing to a fragmented autobiography... The reader will obtain great insight about me as a filmmaker, as a storyteller, and in the way my life makes one thing, and all others mix." This is how the author defines this volume in a brilliant introduction that also sets a perspective: the twelve tales that comprise it encompass several eras, from the late sixties to date, all of them reflecting some of his most intimate obsessions, as well as his evolution as an artist. His dark school years, the influence of fiction in his life, the unexpected effects of chance, the sophistication of humor, the downside of fame, his fascination with books, and his experimentation with different narrative genres are some of the themes that inhabit this indispensable book, with a multilayered interpretation.

"-Kumpi raiskasi kumman? Kun minä yllätin heidät. He näyttivät raiskaavan yhteistuumin!" Espanjalainen Pedro Almodovar on uuden elokuvan kauhukakaroista hulluin. Kuumetta nivusissa -pienoisromaani on löytö ohjaajan nuoruusvuosilta, järjen rajamailla liikkuva tarina kiinalaisesta tamponitehtailijasta Mingistä ja hänen viidestä rakastajattarestaan. "Naisilta meni kaikki aika miesten metsästykseen ja vangitsemiseen. Mingin siteeseensä ymppäämät syövyttävät aineosat olivat saaneet heidän elimistönsä sekaisin, mutta yhdellekään ei tullut mieleenkään huolestua tai mennä hoitoon..."