“Hard scenes are downgraded, the real events were worse”

2023-10-03 06:30:26

Xavier Álvarez Llaberia was in Girona a few days ago presenting “The Confidant”, a novel starring two members of the Mossos d’Esquadra and the war for the control of drug trafficking in Barcelona during the years 2016 and 2017

More and more young people are writing: do they have little work?

(Laughter) There are more novelist journalists than cops.

It’s just that we also have little work.

I wish there were more young writers, it gives a different image of the body, beyond the daily work.

I wish there were more young writers, it gives a different image of the body

Is Barcelona becoming a good source of inspiration for crime novels?

Girona is not far behind either, eh? I was assigned there for a year, and God forbid. It is normal that places where there is a large concentration of people, are recurring points of crime. In the case of Girona, the proximity to France also plays a role.

Is it usually inspired by reality?

Of couse. Writers write about what they know or what they have been told. I write detective novels, my job had to have some advantage.

Is drug trafficking the biggest threat today?

Drug trafficking has always been a source of problems, and now I speak as a criminologist. It is the source of organized crime, but it also damages and depreciates society. Now we are seeing that the marijuana trade causes all of this as well. And we’re getting fentanyl, which is going to be a serious problem.

Drug trafficking has always been a source of problems, and now fentanyl is coming, which will be a serious problem

Is it feasible to eradicate drug trafficking?

Removing it is difficult, like all crimes. We must manage to weaken it.

If we have to pay attention to the presence in the press, I would say that next to drug trafficking there is the crime of kissing.

We live in a social moment where everything is valued. Now we have put the magnifying glass on sexual crimes, which are very important. And I think it’s positive. It is good that society puts these things on the table.

Does he have to keep part of reality silent when he writes?

The facts and characters are based on reality, but I am bound by professional confidentiality. I cannot cross this limit. It’s not that it matters too much either, what matters when I write is what the experience brings me. Everything doesn’t have to be one hundred percent real, it doesn’t have to be a real case. I don’t do true crime, I make fiction. I have access to information that other writers do not have, but I do not see the need to use it.

When I write I am subject to a professional confidentiality, this limit I cannot cross

There are harsh scenes.

Well, they are discounted, because the real facts were worse. If I told in a book real events that I have experienced, people would not believe it. Besides, it would be in bad taste. You can talk about violence, about this criminal underworld that is not friendly at all, but accompany the reader in a friendly way. You don’t have to pass. I do enough for the reader to understand that it is not a world of kisses and hugs. A world found by the police, but also by journalists.

Journalists much worse, since we often have to deal with politicians.

wafer It makes my job easier.

Have you seen many deaths?

not many The ones that touched me.

What does a confidant expect in return?

It’s not like in the movies. There is no such thing as “if you cooperate, we will forget your crime”. Most of those who provide information do so out of spite, out of revenge. Or to eliminate a competitor.

There are stereotypes that no longer exist. The pimp who acts as a confidant, for example. Or the drunk and fat cop, now they’re vegan or doing triathlons.

I just had a myth busted.

There are stereotypes that no longer exist. The pimp who acts as a confidant, for example. Or the drunk and fat cop, now they’re vegan or doing triathlons.

Good manners are being lost, there is no alcohol in the newsrooms either.

And there’s no smoking in patrol cars anymore (laughs).