Eduardo Arroyo's Testamentary Memoir

Eduardo Arroyo, a Spanish painter exiled in France after fleeing Franco's regime, has published 'Minutes d'un testament' with Éditions Grasset. The book uses the legal form of a will as a literary device to weave together memories, anecdotes, and autobiographical reflections. Arroyo draws inspiration from the 19th-century Spanish jurist and historian Gumersindo de Azcarate's memoirs, reworking themes while diverging freely. Rather than a Rousseau-like confession, the text transforms all experience into narrative material, from a passion for J&B whisky to childhood homes and encounters. Paragraphs often juxtapose unrelated impressions, with the core being exile in 1950s Paris, the figure of Franco, and painting—his 'companion during exile.' Arroyo links the testament, a figure of old age and death, to painting: the canvas becomes a mirror of passing time and a melancholic figure. The book also touches on Narrative Figuration and his involvement in May 1968. Reviewed by Léa Bismuth.