Escaping Barcelona by Henry Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Much of what transpires obscurely on streets stands a remote chance of being considered worthy of attention. With the ever occupied mind, always attentive to own entreaties, it is imperative that the obscure remains just that--obscure. Moreover, things unpleasant and unwarranted are the least to be paid any attention to while vacationing. No dearth of things visible and exciting, why even bother for those shadowy. Adventurous places, thrilling experiences, luxury of soft bed to sleep, more than enough to eat and drink without having to think of next meal. Hunger, deprivation or loss of identity - not even to trouble in dreams.

But, what if ?

What if stuck in a place, having lost everything, even the identity? How to survive? How to escape?

Rudy, a nineteen year old, leaves his home and wandering from country to country, finally lands in Barcelona, Spain. Youth and independence; a heady combination for adventure. Dreamy eyes and vigor for the unknown, added with a lure of the forbidden.


This lure wears off when Rudy is not only mugged but also sexually assaulted on his last day in the city. The robbers take away all, his money, even his passport. He is left only with the clothing he wears. Trapped in the vicious circle of poverty, he faces starvation and scorn. His inability to procure an employment in absence of a proof of identity, adds to his woes. Does he survive hunger and destitution, the walking evil on the roads; men dangerous and degraded? Does he finally escape?

Escaping Barcelona by Henry Martin is a gripping story of the escape of Rudy from the sin city. But it is not just that. It is also a thought provoking narrative, which makes you contemplate the most unfortunate state for a human being i.e. the state of hunger and also what it leads to. In a way it brought to mind Knut Hamsun’s “Hunger”. The work is also a satire on the so called developed world where it takes only the opposite sides of a single road to separate the wealthy from the poor, where abundance and deprivation co-exist, where the youth is plagued by addiction and where the Police personnel are as hardened as the hard core criminals.

It is also a rumination on humanity, hope for a better World.

“Perhaps, some day, humanity can start afresh, a new world, a tabula rasa, a world with a mind without prior experiences. No memories and no pain. A day when the ones with abundance do not look down at the poor and the needy, a day when we learn to care for the victims, the fallen souls of civilization and advancement, a day when the world will be pure."

“Yet no one realizes that the vital always remains unspoken: Be human, be open-minded, and be willing to learn. Nothing could be simpler than that, yet it is the hardest lesson to accept or teach. We raise our progeny with vanity and prejudice. We doom future generations and ourselves; we have destroyed the idea of simplicity."

But more than that, it is also Rudy's escape from the sin itself. Though he is an addict (view spoiler)[ (something which disturbs considering that his is a reflective mind) (hide spoiler)] but not even the most desperate of states make him indulge in crime i.e. rob or kill.The beauty of the work lies not only in its spellbinding narrative, which never slacks anywhere, but also in the introspection it calls for. This is one of the best literary fictions I have read this year.

Highly recommended.





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