Reverte: Sánchez has never read a book in his life

Reverte labels Sánchez a 'political assassin', igniting controversy

Arturo Pérez-Reverte appeared on television to promote his latest novel, The Final Problem, but ended up discussing something else. Asked about the new government, the writer and academic offered a definition that spread like wildfire: Pedro Sánchez is, he said, "a political gunslinger, an assassin, a man who stops at nothing." He concluded: "He hasn't read a book in his life, I'm sure of it." The remark acted like a match in a powder keg. Within hours, the comment evolved into a broader discussion about power, cynicism, and what it means to read.

What stood out wasn't the insult—Reverte is known for not holding back—but the portrait he constructed afterward. Sánchez, he suggested, has "Machiavelli in his blood," possesses an "extraordinary political instinct," and is "brave, daring, tenacious, and utterly unscrupulous." For a novelist, he added, he is "a fascinating character, probably the most interesting politician currently in Spain and Europe." Admiration and condemnation, in the same sentence.

The uncomfortable praise: "I am a fan"

The writer didn't stop at sarracena diagnosis. He continued describing Sánchez as someone who "has taken our pulse very well" and who "plays very intelligently" with everyone. "Politicians are all infamous and capable of selling their mothers. He sells his mother but doesn't hand her over, or hands ours over before his own, and convinces us it was his that got handed over," he said laughing. "That takes skill and he has no enemy. They're all wimps; he'll fall when he wants to, he's unbeatable."

The paradox is the heart of the matter. Reverte describes a "completely amoral" character who, in one of his novels, "would be the villain, pure evil." Then he confesses: "He's very good at what he does, I'm fascinated. The composure, the audacity, the cynicism... There's no one like him, for better or worse. I am a fan." That "I am a fan" became, for many, the real headline.

Regarding the amnesty in Catalonia and Puigdemont, the writer was briefer: "He is Sánchez's puppet, they are all the chorus line, the character is Sánchez. He has gotten everyone, including Puigdemont, to work for him, so he can stay in Moncloa. If he were a good person, he'd be incredible."

What is debated when asking if Sánchez reads?

The conversation quickly moved to deeper ground. Some argue that a president's cultural level isn't measured by novels read, but by management skills, communication, and environmental awareness. From this perspective, knowledge today is acquired through technical books, experience, and socio-psychological capacity, not just literature. Others counter that a head of government who hasn't read a book in his life can hardly have independent judgment, and that the anecdote about his favorite book—the National Episodes by Galdós, which aren't a single book but more than fifty—reveals the answer was secondhand.

The third front is the most uncomfortable: fascination. Several analyses point out that admiring a character for their cynicism and lack of scruples is not neutral. It is, they say, a form of codependency with power. And they remind us that aesthetic admiration for the "interesting villain" has limits: the villain in a novel doesn't govern a country.

The writer as a character: business, pen, and RAE

The other half of the debate wasn't about Sánchez, but about Reverte. Whether he is a "decent but thriller" writer, whether his tenure at the Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy) is more marketing than philology, whether he lives off the persona he has built. Some recall that the institution is eminently technical and writers occupy a more marginal place; bringing in a sales star was, they argue, a way to bring it closer to the public. He is also criticized for his Francophilia, his silence when asked about the amnesty, and his tendency to say "all politicians are the same" without pointing to any specific one.

The counterpoint comes from another angle: if the writer earns money from his books and appears on TV to sell them, political analysis is part of the show. "Pérez-Reverte Ltd.," someone summarized. Promotion and opinion, in the same package.

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In the end, the discussion stays where it began: in a phrase. "He hasn't read a book in his life." It could be true, it could be a casual quip. What no one disputes is that it was said by a novelist who then confessed to being a fan of the character he had just called an assassin.