The Best novels inspired by Mallorca
Mallorca has witnessed the rise and peak of civilizations such as the Roman, Arab, and Jewish. It has inspired writers, musicians, painters, and poets. Architects like Gaudí have strolled through its streets, perhaps gathering ideas for future projects, and more recently, it has been the backdrop for films and television series.
The island has also fostered some of the finest novels set in its landscapes, enchanting residents who see their favourite places reflected in many stories, and visitors who explore the locations depicted in their favourite books.
Some of the Best Novels Inspired by Mallorca
Do you know Eva García Sáenz de Urturi? And the White City Trilogy? At some point, the Vitorian writer decided to make Mallorca the setting for one of her novels: Pasaje a Tahití. This story traverses Manacor and Menorca, eventually delving into Tahiti as the pearl industry begins its history. Fiction blends with historical facts through the two main characters, siblings who lose their jobs as glassblowers and decide to leave Mallorca to seek fortune overseas.
Secondly, we highlight La cirujana de Palma by Lea Vélez. A novel set in 1835, it tells the story of the wife of the newly appointed forensic doctor of the island, whose professional intuition is crucial for solving suspicious deaths. Tana Ayuso moves into Can Belfort, a stone house where a terrible murder occurred years ago, and she gradually becomes involved in the investigation.
Our third recommendation is Blitz by David Trueba, in which Mallorca is the chosen setting. The book narrates the story of Beto, a young landscape architect going through an emotional crisis and maintaining a relationship with a German woman thirty years his senior. The book is filled with beautiful illustrations and features a postcard photo of Cala Llamp, one of the island's most beautiful spots.
We cannot leave out books like El Carbonero by Carlos Soto, set in the Tramontana mountains. At the mountain's base live the protagonist and his father, professional charcoal burners devoted entirely to their trade. Surrounded by silence, they are always attentive to the oak wood burning process in an endless vigil, sacrificing sleep and life. An unexpected death changes the peaceful course of the story, turning it into a raw, violent tale filled with pain.
Our recommendations conclude with El último azul by Carme Riera. This story is set in 1687, when a group of Mallorcan converso Jews tries to flee from Palma to freedom, fearing capture and judgment by the Inquisition. However, they are all caught, and in the spring of 1691, thirty-seven of them were burned at the stake. Based on these historical events, the author weaves the existence of 17th-century Mallorcan converso Jews into a narrative that mixes aristocrats, merchants, bandits, inquisitors, and peasants, all connected by the survival or not of those who renounced or did not renounce their beliefs to save their lives.
If you enjoy reading, we recommend choosing a day pass at La Pérgola to spend a day of calm, tranquillity, sunbathing, swimming, and a well-deserved immersion in the pages of any of these or other novels.
