Con el diablo en los talones (With the devil on my heels) is a 2006 Spanish novel by José Pellón. The main character, Desiderio "Desi" Angulo narrates his last years in high school, how he smuggled drugs in the high school with his classmate Jorge "GeBé" Bedoya and how his life changed when meeting Paz, an Algerian immigrant.
Tropes in this book:
- Abusive Parents: What Desi thinks of Paz's father when she explains to him how he hit her with a stick when she pretended to be ill so that she wouldn't have to help with the animals of the house.
- Alliterative Name: There are two in Desi's family: his father, Alejandro Angulo, and his brother, Ángel Angulo.
- Accidental Truth: When Paula fakes being pregnant, Desi tries to corner her by telling her he knows she cheated on him with GeBé. Paula fails to catch the bluff and asks him how he found out.
- Alpha Bitch: Paula Velasco.She was used to having guys going after her drooling across the hallways, receiving her indifference when not disdain, until she finally picked one. The curious thing was that those "ones" always had the most powerful bike, the fastest and most awesome car, or stood out for some other reason that, well, didn't have to do with school grades.
- Ax-Crazy: GeBé has his moments, possibly aided by the copious amount of drugs he takes. He once threatened his English teacher with a knife when he thought him and Desi had cheated on an exam. (They actually had, but that's another story.)
- Berserk Button:
- Don't ask Desi to swear on his mother. You're not allowed to even mention her.
- It's not the smartest of ideas to make dirty rhymes with GeBé's surname. Chances are the offender will at least eat a few punches.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: In Desi's family we find an alcoholic father kicked out of one job after another, his wife with heart issues that he abused when his drinking went overboard, an older son whose drug addiction led him to robbery and prison, and a younger son who is an aspiring poet but also the second-in-command of his high school's resident drug lord.
- Bittersweet Ending: Desi has managed to reorient his life, and his brother Ángel is finally out of jail and has made amends with his father, but Paz is still recovering from the injuries sustained in the bombings.
- The B Grade: Discussed by Desi when talking about Camilo:I was sure that if his grades ever went down from A's to B's (unlikely), he would set fire to himself on the basketball court.
- Destructive Romance: GeBé's girlfriend, Lorena, flat out tells Desi that she hasn't dumped him because she's scared of him. Probably that's what happens when you date a guy perfectly capable of throwing an old washing machine to a road while drugged.
- Disappeared Dad: Desi's father left the family apartment for some time. When asked for his whereabouts, Desi would say he was on a business trip.
- Domestic Abuse: Played for Drama. Desi's alcoholic father used to abuse his mother when he was drunk.
- The Dragon: Desi used to be GeBé's right hand in his drug business in the high school.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Some of Desi's relatives have "Desidín" as an Affectionate Nickname for him. He hates it.
- Forbidden Fruit: Referenced when Desi discusses the aftermath of the chaotic first and only rap concert to take place in his high school:Needless to say, rap was immediately declared musica non grata in the high school. As it usually happens, the achieved effect was the exact opposite — when you tell a kid not to do something, that's when they'll go ahead and do it — and guys who had never cared about rap before ended up downloading from the Internet the entire discography of SFDK, Violadores del Verso, Sólo los Solo...
- Hidden Depths: Desi really likes poetry and wants to be a writer. Becomes less hidden as the book advances.
- Insufferable Genius: Camilo, the "Prince of Nerds" as Desi calls him, embodies this trope. He also qualifies as Teen Genius, since he's a high school student.Camilo, you already know it, was a nerd. Although I could also refer to Emilio, Leticia, José Luis, Abelardo, Ana or Esther. But Camilo topped them all: unsociable, spoilsport, smart-ass, Mr. Raised Hand, Captain Cum Laude. [...] The teachers, tired of being shown up after it was proven on more than one occasion that he knew twice as much as them about anything, gave him an A+ as soon as they saw his name on the exam. They didn't even bother analyzing them. Why waste time?
- I Need to Go Iron My Dog: In the early stages of his relationship with Paz, Desi starts making up wacky excuses to not hang out with Paula and GeBé.
- Jekyll & Hyde: Desi himself lampshades this. At the beginning of the last year of high school, he feels like his personality is splitting into two:Who would win the battle? The poetry-loving, aspiring writer Desi, or the unbelieving lower-class kid who trafficked with drugs and also did them?
I think I was turning into some sort of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. - National Stereotypes: Discussed by Paz and Desi, when he says he's surprised that she doesn't smoke hashish because he thinks it's normal in Algeria, and Paz humorously retorts that she's surprised that he doesn't bullfight because that's supposed to be normal in Spain.
- No Punctuation Period: Camilo, again:—Japanese and South Korean scientists have created a female mouse without a father using genetically modified ovules from two different mothers!—said Camilo, like a machine gun burst, without periods or commas or anything.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Paz survived the 2004 Madrid train bombings
. - Shout-Out: Desi names his scooter SS after rap group Sólo los Solo. Other rap groups such as SFDK or Violadores del Verso are namechecked as well.
