The writer Alejandro Monreal Landete, originally from Hellín (Albacete) and resident in Valencia, presents his second novel: Children of the Moon. After the success of his debut with The Unexpected Path, a coming of age story with clear nods to Love, Simon or Heartstopper, the author is now betting on a darker narrative, full of symbolism, pain and beauty. This time, from the hand of the Canarian publishing house Siete Islas.
A forest, a boy, and a disturbing accusation
Children of the Moonplaces us in the kingdom of Aragon, where Brun, a young sculptor’s apprentice with humble roots, embarks on a journey with his master. What begins as a story of artistic growth transforms into something much more complex when Brun passes out in a forest and, upon waking up, is accused of being possessed by the devil. There are no judgments, there are no explanations. Just fear. And the imminent threat of the Holy Inquisition.
From this point, the story dives into a mix of magical realism and historical drama, where the supernatural becomes intertwined with the very real oppressions of the time. Monreal plays with the fantastic without abandoning the human tone. Because although there are forest fairies and spells, what really weighs is suspicion, exclusion and the need to resist.
Characters who inhabit the margins
The cast that accompanies Brun on his journey is as diverse as it is symbolic: a group of lepers who live outside the system, a healer who defies medical norms, an unexpected love that grows in the midst of persecution, and a forest creature who seems more empathetic than any ecclesiastical authority. Nobody here is entirely good or bad, and that complexity is one of the novel’s virtues.
The book not only raises questions about good and evil, but also about desire, freedom, and the right to exist outside of what the norm dictates. Without great speeches or pamphlets, Monreal breaks down these themes with simple but careful prose, which leaves room for astonishment and emotion.
Alejandro Monreal: telling stories from the margins
Born in 1983, Monreal has a degree in Audiovisual Communication from the University of Valencia and has developed a good part of his career in the world of 3D and animation. He has worked as CFX Supervisor in productions such as Buffalo Kids by Pedro Solís and Juan Jesús García Galocha, as well as in popular animated series (Bloopies, Cry Babies, VipPets). But despite that technical profile, he has never stopped writing. And that shows.
From short films like Kansas —selected at international festivals such as BFI Flare, LesGaiCineMad or the Mardi Gras Film Festival in Sydney— to comics published in the magazine Exégesis, his work has always explored vulnerability, diversity and emotional ties from a perspective that avoids clichés. With Children of the Moon, he goes one step further: he embraces the fantastic, yes, but also the political.
