Alfred Kubin's 'The Other Side' Reissued in Spanish by Siruela

Siruela has published a Spanish translation of Alfred Kubin's 1909 novel 'The Other Side' ('La otra parte'), translated by Juan José del Solar. Kubin, a Bohemian-born artist and friend of Franz Kafka, is known for macabre illustrations that anticipate Expressionism, Symbolism, and Surrealism. His only novel blends travel diary, psychological exploration, philosophical treatise, and nightmare, serving as a bridge between 19th-century Romantic morbidity and 20th-century dystopias by Kafka, Orwell, and Zamiatin. The story follows an illustrator who visits the Dream Kingdom founded by Claus Patera, a childhood friend who amassed wealth in the Far East. The kingdom, perpetually overcast, is filled with antiquated buildings, furniture, and clothing, reflecting Patera's obsession with the past. The protagonist's wife falls ill and dies; chaos ensues with the arrival of American billionaire Hercules Bell, who opposes Patera. Animals invade the capital Perla, and scenes of lynching, plagues, and war unfold. Kubin's dreamscape is influenced by Freud's 'The Interpretation of Dreams' (1900) and anticipates technological alienation, war industry, fascism, and totalitarianism. Kubin lived from 1906 until his death in 1959 in a 12th-century castle in Zwickledt, Austrian Alps, witnessing both world wars. The novel was written in a few days and is considered a prophetic work.