Mercedes Abad, Sangre [Blood] (2000)

Born in Barcelona in 1961, Mercedes Abad is well known in both Spanish and Catalan cultural spheres, most of all for her many successful short stories, which have appeared in anthologies as well as sole-authored collections. Sangre is set in present-day Barcelona and narrated in the first person by its protagonist, a woman in her thirties named Marina. The plot summary may give the impression that the grounds for including this text in a monograph on Spanish vampire fiction are flimsy: just one blood-drinking episode. However, there is more to it than this, which is worth briefly surveying. Imagery throughout the novel rings bells for readers familiar with classic Gothic and vampire fiction too. The tone of Sangre, created by Marina’s diction, is wry and flippant, however, a far cry from the mood one might expect in a horror mode such as vampire fiction.