Three famous stories by Quiruga that represent three different points of view about death were translated into Hebrew by Tal Nitzan, respected translator. The first, Sunstroke, tells the tale of the death of a farmer called Jones in the area where Quiruga lived. No human in the story is aware that Death is approaching. The character of Death looks exactly like Jones and the only creatures that can see him and try to protect their master are the farmer’s dogs. What is so special about this story is the mixture of realism and spiritualism. In this short story we learn a great deal about the farmer’s life and if we have to answer the question of whether Death is evil or good. One can say that dying is as random as a spin of the roulette wheel and when it is draws nearer to you there will be no remorse.
Another story that seems to support this theory is The Dead Man, which tells of another farmer who dies in a freak accident when he trips over his machete. The author tries to understand what the dead man feels like while he is dying and describes his death in a very realistic way. The reader gets an insight into how he is trying to cling on to life and the usual things that happen every day. The moment of death is still something we do not experience from first-hand experience but from a point of view of an animal, in this case a horse that loses his reverence towards his master the moment he dies. As long as his master lived the horse dares not to leave the banana field, but the moment he dies the horse starts walking. This very much reminds me of another story by Quiruga, With the Stream, which describes the death of a person from snakebite, but in the last case the death is physical and sharp.
The third story I would like to mention is The Son, when we know about the death of the main protagonist from the very beginning. We know that death is expected but the dead kid continues to live on in the father’s mind and this idea of life after death is another option that could be examined and make a very fine opening for a story.