“These things only happen once in a lifetime.” The Barcelona antique dealer Artur Ramon still remembers that day in 2018 when he attended an auction in Madrid, something usual in his work. And a painting caught his attention: an oil on canvas with a religious theme measuring just 51.5 x 38.5 cm by Francisco Bayeu, court painter to Charles III and Charles IV and one of the most influential artists in Madrid in the last third of the 18th century. He was not the only one surprised by the work. Another antique dealer felt the same infatuation. “A competitor of mine from Madrid came in, and I noticed how he tried to hide it after seeing the painting.” They decided to acquire it jointly. A diplomatic solution between gentlemen.

Love is one of the most beloved books by Theodor Kallifatides (Molaoi, Greece, 1938). However, it had never before been translated into either Spanish or Catalan. Starting September 16, thanks to Galaxia Gutenberg, readers of both languages will also be able to enjoy this contemporary classic that the author first published in Swedish in 1978. “I wrote it many years ago, but it still feels very heartfelt,” he confesses by phone to La Vanguardia days before this long-awaited publication arrives in bookstores. It is the first time he has spoken to a Spanish media outlet about the novel. “It is a book that I think ages well because, as far as love is concerned, for better or worse, human beings have not changed much, as we are still the same as in Greek tragedies,” he reflects. The novel follows Laki Sarris, a man about to turn forty, married to Lena and with a son, who falls madly in love with a woman much younger than him, Li. A relationship that will inevitably have dramatic consequences for his life.