Stone in a Landslide
Published on 5. August 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
128 pages
978-0-9562840-1-3 (ISBN)
Description
The beginning of the 20th century: 13-year-old Conxa has to leave her home village in the Pyrenees to work for her childless aunt. After years of hard labour, she finds love with Jaume - a love that will be thwarted by the Spanish Civil War. Approaching her own death, Conxa looks back on a life in which she has lost everything except her own indomitable spirit. ------- Why Peirene chose to publish this book: 'I fell in love with Conxa's narrative voice, its stoic calmness and the complete lack of anger and bitterness. It's a timeless voice, down to earth and full of human contradictory nuances. It's the expression of someone who searches for understanding in a changing world but senses that ultimately there may be no such thing.' Meike Ziervogel, Publisher
Reviews / Votes
"Sometimes the best stories are those simply told." The Independent "So vibrant, that it makes me want to take scissors to everything else I read." The Guardian "short, spare and haunting" The Strand, BBC World Service "A Pyrenean life told in a quietly effective voice." Independent on Sunday "There is an understated power in Barbal's depiction of how the forces of history can shape the life of the powerless." The Financial Times "A stirring account of love and loss." Daily Express "A masterpiece of world literature and a shining example of the virtuosity of elegant and concise prose." Lancashire Evening Post "This book is a quiet reminder that sometimes simplicity is the key to revealing the depth of human suffering." Wanderlust MagazineMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 123 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-9562840-1-3 (9780956284013)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
Maria Barbal, born in 1949, is considered the most influential Catalan contemporary author. The clarity with which she presents human relations and the effects of the passage of time has earned her critical acclaim and a wide readership. She has published eight novels and has won numerous awards, including the Critics' Prize, the National Prize for Literature and the Serra d'Or Prize. She lives in Barcelona.