(Barcelona, ​​1943). Writer. A law graduate, in 1973 he moved to New York to work as a translator for the UN, where he wrote his first two novels, * The Truth About the Savolta Case * (1975, Critics' Prize) and *The Mystery of the Haunted Crypt * (1979), the first in a highly successful series of four humorous novels. His long and distinguished career has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Lire magazine's Best Book of the Year Award for * The City of Marvels * (1986), the Best Foreign Book Award in France for *A Light Comedy * (1996), the Planeta Prize for *Catfight: Madrid 1936* (2010), and the 2016 Cervantes Prize. In addition to novels, he has written essays, short stories, and plays.