The Proper Painting

<p class=ql-align-justify>A painter Xabier Nóvoa who can only paint if he has a live model in front of him. A maid Carmiña who is queen of the washing place. A pickpocket Inés who knows how to catch eels. A stepfather Pig who merges with the pigs he pins to the ground. A father Henrique who works on a North Sea oil rig. Two boys Forxán and Tilve who steal from the cab of a fruit lorry. A blind girl Adela who seeks revenge with the help of Mariña. A bookseller Antía who prepares reading requests for the local inmates. There are hidden connections - Sailor who visits Carmiña's mistress is the headmaster of Forxán and Tilve's school; Tilve uses the ruins of the mill where Mariña takes refuge as a landmark; Adela is one of the children entertained by Inés when she hitches a ride; the inmate in the last story is Inés's grandson and sports a tattoo done by the painter. The eight stories in <em>The Proper Painting</em> Fabio Rivas's inaugural volume published when the author was twenty-six met with universal acclaim when the Galician edition came out in 2023; the depth of language myriad narrative voices and unexpected plot-lines place him firmly in the line of his namesake Manuel Rivas and the latter's book <em>Vermeer's Milkmaid & Other Stories</em> which won the Spanish National Book Award in 1996. Both books are translated into English by Jonathan Dunne.</p>