La ciudad de las luces muertas is the new novel by David Uclés, winner of the Premio Nadal 2026, and confirms the literary imagination of one of the most unique storytellers in recent Spanish narrative, also the author of La península de las casas vacías.
The story begins in postwar Barcelona, when a young woman accidentally causes an extraordinary phenomenon that plunges the city into total darkness. For an entire day, all light disappears: both sunlight and artificial light. Only a faint glow of unknown origin and the fire’s glow remain.
At that moment, the different Barcelonas that have existed over time begin to overlap. Buildings that had disappeared reappear, others not yet built emerge from the future, and the city becomes a territory where eras, perspectives, and memories that should never have coincided coexist.
The phenomenon also triggers an unexpected parade of historical figures who come back to life and cross paths in unlikely encounters. Picasso makes Simone Weil cry, Cortázar paints a portrait of Carmen Laforet, Gaudí varnishes passersby, and George Orwell protects Montserrat Caballé, Núria Espert, and Jordi Savall from war projectiles. Meanwhile, a photographer capable of revealing in his images what has not yet happened tries to decipher the mystery of the darkness that has transformed the city.
In this ensemble novel, David Uclés builds a story where literature, painting, music, and theater become the deep conscience of society. An imaginative and ambitious story that turns Barcelona into a stage where past, present, and future dialogue in the same space.
La ciudad de las luces muertas is, at the same time, a tribute to the city and a celebration of imagination as a force capable of restoring light even in the darkest moments.
