Javier Montes was awarded the Jose Maria de Pereda award for his first novel, Los Penultimos (The Penultimate), which he followed with Segunda Parte (Second Part). Along with Andres Barba he won the Anagrama de Ensayo award for La Ceremonia del Porno (Porn Ceremony), and was also one of the co-creators of After Henry James. In 2010, Granta included him on their list of the best young authors currently writing in Spanish, and his stories have appeared in numerous collections including Puros Cuentos (Telling Tales) and Life in Cities. An Anthology of European Contemporary Writers. He is a regular contributor to publications including ABC, El Pais, Letras Libres, Revista de Libros, Granta UK, Revista de Occidente, Letra Internacional and Arquitectura Viva, and has curated a number of exhibitions, including "Beckett Films" at the CAAC in 2011. Montes has also been a lecturer in Art History at the Spanish College in Malabo (Equatorial Guinea).
"Subtle, smart, and agile writing that shifts between different voices, to the intelligent reader's delight."-El Cultural, ABC; "The wised-up narrator, a hotel reviewer, is getting through the days-and his life. Fate intervenes and he is given the wrong hotel room key. A porn movie is being filmed. He vacates, only to be later visited by the film- maker, a woman. Curiosity becomes obsession; there is a car chase and a memorable walk through a hotel kitchen. Off beat and so very cool."-Eileen Battersby, The Irish Times; "While it stretches credibility as narrative, the commentary that emerges is all the clearer for it. Montes reminds us that the ultimate pornographic fantasy is that porn should come to life and so no longer involve representation. Fantasies live by their fictitiousness, though, so the voyeur has a certain amount invested in not realizing them... It's quite nicely done - a small story, neatly spun out - and comes to a nicely disturbing conclusion, too." -Ollie Brock, Times Literary Supplement; "A great deal of The Hotel Life is about atmosphere, and Montes does a nice job of describing the feel of various hotels-and the narrator's downward spiral in them ... It's quite nicely done-a small story, neatly spun out-and comes to a nicely disturbing conclusion, too."-Michael Orthofer, The Complete Review
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