How Gonzalo de Berceo Becomes a Medieval Detective in Al Andalus
- Acebedo returns with A tomb in Al-Andalus, published by Tusquets, as the third installment following the medieval poet Gonzalo de Berceo as a sarcastic crime investigator.
- In this new adventure, Acebedo shifts the focus toward the adventurous side of the character, placing Berceo in numerous brawls with those who want to get rid of...
- Accompanied by a ruthless character named Alvar Colodro—whom he must obey by order of his bishop—Berceo experiences adventures in a Cordoban harem, reunites with a former theology teacher...
Novelist Lorenzo G. Acebedo returns with A tomb in Al-Andalus, published by Tusquets, as the third installment following the medieval poet Gonzalo de Berceo as a sarcastic crime investigator. The story begins with a couple of gruesome murders that appear to be perpetrated by low-life individuals, though the highest powers of the era actually orbit around them.
An adventure in Cordoba and the mystery of the Wallada Codex
In this new adventure, Acebedo shifts the focus toward the adventurous side of the character, placing Berceo in numerous brawls with those who want to get rid of him. The narrative moves to Andalusian Córdoba, which is surrounded by the Christian troops of King Ferdinand III the Holy, who took the city in 1236. Berceo is tasked by his superiors with finding, copying, and translating the Arabic text of a coveted book known as the Códice Wallada. Located within a grand library containing thousands of volumes of ancient knowledge, this codex holds a vital secret that would allow Christians to defeat Muslims in the Reconquest of the Peninsula.
Characters and the author’s anonymity
Accompanied by a ruthless character named Alvar Colodro—whom he must obey by order of his bishop—Berceo experiences adventures in a Cordoban harem, reunites with a former theology teacher of whom he holds no fond memories, faces dangers, and enjoys drinking sherry. Meanwhile, the mysterious author Lorenzo G. Acebedo, an anagram of Gonzalo de Berceo, remains comfortably hidden in anonymity, granting interviews only via email through his publisher.
Comparison with previous releases
While previous titles in the series such as The tavern of Silos, which was a critical and sales success, and The Holy Company successfully portrayed the life of peninsular medieval monks and illustrated Romanesque art, this latest installment goes in a different direction. The new title reduces the focus on monastic affairs and medieval art in favor of action and humor, featuring wordplay, misunderstandings, and hilarious situations stemming from characters speaking broken languages.