Juan Goytisolo, who won Spain’s Cervantes prize, dies at 86

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Juan Goytisolo, a Spanish novelist known for his experimental novels and political essays, has died. He was 86.

Goytisolo died at his home in Marrakech, Morocco, on Sunday, according to his literary agency Carmen Balcells. The agency hasn’t revealed the cause of death.

Goytisolo won Spain’s most prestigious literary award, the Cervantes Prize, in 2014. “Marks of Identity” is among his most highly regarded novels.

Culture minister Inigo Mendez de Vigo paid tribute to Goytisolo, comparing him to Spain’s greatest writer, Miguel de Cervantes.

“Juan Goytisolo is one of the Cervantes Prize winners who most closely identified with the author of (Don) Quixote,” Mendez de Vigo said in a statement.

Goytisolo left Spain for France in 1956, moving to Morocco in 1996.