{"product_id":"the-last-dream-isbn-9780063349759","title":"The Last Dream","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNEW YORKER\u003c\/i\u003e BEST BOOK OF 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlso available in audio\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003efeaturing narration by Colman Domingo, Rachel Weisz, and Michael Cera.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Instantly fascinating, brimming with twisting narratives and unforgettable endings… \u003ci\u003eThe Last Dream\u003c\/i\u003e stands alone as a major literary talent’s virtuosic debut.” —Kaveh Akbar, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eMartyr!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“A real page turner.” —John Waters\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMaking 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.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith this debut collection, film legend Pedro Almodóvar 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. Almodóvar 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.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach entry reflects Almodóvar's most intimate obsessions, as well as his evolution as an artist. In the title story, “The Last Dream,” Almodóvar 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 \u003ci\u003eBad Education\u003c\/i\u003e, a manic adventure about a film director searching for painkillers on a bank holiday weekend, and a gothic tale centered around a repentant vampire.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTranslated from the Spanish by Frank Wynne\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e\"A genre-agnostic spin through the Spanish filmmaker’s favorite preoccupations: doleful divas, Catholic education, rebellion, and the countercultural ferment of Madrid after Franco’s rule.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVulture\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Sometimes surreal, sometimes prurient, sometimes discomfiting—and every page worth reading.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A heady mix of factual and fictitious, befitting of one of cinema’s most imaginative storytellers… [the collection is] bracing, the book serving as an outlet for something Almodóvar can’t express from behind a camera.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Observer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The sheer depth and breadth of the collection is astonishing, and it’s made more astonishing by the economy of language. A slim volume of just a dozen stories, \u003cem\u003eThe Last Dream\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003eis light on embellishment or lengthy description. Almodóvar’s prose is lean but evocative, ele­gant but grounded, and translator Frank Wynne has done a remarkable job rendering it into styl­ish, beautifully spare English. Almodóvar’s characters, like those in his films, are full of yearning and wonder. Both for fans of great short fiction and for fans of the director, \u003cem\u003eThe Last Dream\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003eis a must-read.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookPage (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“'The Life and Death of Miguel'...\u003cstrong\u003ecould have been written by Roberto Bolaño at his height\u003c\/strong\u003e... It’s fascinating that in fiction Almodóvar prefers to inhabit [a] historical and often fantastical universe. To judge by \u003cem\u003eThe Last Dream\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003ehe’s akin to a Spanish Angela Carter\u003c\/strong\u003e, or a cousin to the undersung Argentinian genius Silvina Ocampo. What his films and stories have in common is a vivid melodrama; a preoccupation with motherhood, outsiders and religion.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[A] brisk, eclectic and idiosyncratic tour of [Almodóvar's] memories and imagination... Over the course of 211 pages, the exuberant, coal-haired enfant terrible of Spanish cinema becomes the salt-and-pepper-haired auteur of the late 90s and then, finally, the thoughtful, white-haired sage [of today, these] 12 tales tell a more honest story than would a straightforward memoir.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[A] real page turner.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJohn Waters\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A literary treat ... exactly what one would expect from Almodóvar, who gleefully flouts conventions of so-called morality with in-your-face works on homosexuality, religion, and more ... great, cheeky fun ... Devotees of Almodóvar's cinema won't be disappointed by this lively collection.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Pedro Almodovar’s first book isn’t a memoir, even though he’s been asked to write one for many years. But it’s like a memoir of the mind, for Almodovar presents everything from childhood memories to short stories to ideas for films to enigmatic passages that might be any or all of these things. It’s typically tantalizing, melodramatic, unexpected and inevitably Almodovarian.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eParade\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The stories in \u003cem\u003eThe Last Dream \u003c\/em\u003eare like a kaleidoscope that reflects to you only the finest, most unexpected moments. The delicious blend of truth and fiction drops you intimately, with raw honesty, inside Almodóvar’s heart. I love this book!\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMiguel Arteta, director of Beatriz At Dinner\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Instantly fascinating, brimming with twisting narratives and unforgettable endings… \u003cem\u003eThe Last Dream\u003c\/em\u003e stands alone as a major literary talent’s virtuosic debut.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKaveh Akbar, New York Times bestselling author of Martyr!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"The Last Dream\u003c\/em\u003e is an inspiring testament to one of cinema’s great creative forces. These stories\/ allegories\/ dreams\/ philosophical riffs and intense personal sketches shimmer with all of the vibrance, humor, provocation and humanity of Almodóvar’s entire body of work. A true delight.”    - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSam Lipsyte, author of the New York Times bestseller The Ask\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The celebrated Spanish film director gleefully subverts the sacred as a matter of course. Populated by religious figures, sex workers, pop-culture icons, a gentle vampire, and a man who ages in reverse, these tales, written over five decades, are largely of a piece with Almodóvar’s exuberant, genre-defying cinema.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperVia","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48588061147365,"sku":"NP9780063349759","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780063349759.jpg?v=1773961461","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-last-dream-isbn-9780063349759","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}