Killing the Nerve
Auto-journalism, self-discovery, Catalan literature, English translation
Published on 16. September 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
210 pages
978-1-0686934-6-5 (ISBN)
Description
Longlisted for the Premi Finestres 2023 ? Voted Best Catalan Book of the Year by El Pais ** **A fearless and luminous debut about freedom, belonging, and the end of youth... ** **"It powerfully conveys the anxiety, chaos, and disillusionment of a world hurtling towards collapse." - Julia Guillamon, La Vanguardia
"Very Joan Didion." - Jordi Punti, El Periodico
If like me you read, adored, and became obsessed with PERFECTION by Vicenzo Latronico, I think you're going to need to read this book! - Night Owl Books
"A sharp, sceptical and deeply intelligent voice for a restless generation." - El Cultural
For fans of Deborah Levy, Rachel Cusk and Leslie Jamison, Killing the Nerve captures the spirit of a generation that came of age in motion - global, self-aware, and searching for meaning in a world without anchors.
Not so much autofiction as autojournalism, Anna Pazos charts the end of youth and the beginning of adulthood for the global nomad generation. From the 'Mediterranean mediocrity' of bourgeois Barcelona to the chaos of Erasmus days in Thessaloniki, from her first steps in journalism in Jerusalem to a transatlantic voyage with an unsuitable lover - and finally to post-MeToo, pre-pandemic New York - this is a portrait of a woman always moving, always questioning.
When she is forced back to Barcelona in 2021, Pazos turns her gaze inward, confronting family, memory, and the fault lines of Catalan identity. What begins as an escape becomes a reckoning - with self, with place, and with what it truly means to grow up.
Amazing Reader Reviews: ?????????? "Lyrical, incisive, and profoundly resonant - a mirror of a generation. For fans of Deborah Levy or Rachel Cusk, this novel will hit like a revelation." ?????????? "A clear-eyed, engaging account of a generation navigating freedom, uncertainty, and the search for meaning." ???????? "Anna Pazos has immense life experience - Killing the Nerve is a curious exploration of her journeys." ???????? "For fans of travel literature and conversational memoirs that capture modern relationships in all their messiness and beauty."
"Very Joan Didion." - Jordi Punti, El Periodico
If like me you read, adored, and became obsessed with PERFECTION by Vicenzo Latronico, I think you're going to need to read this book! - Night Owl Books
"A sharp, sceptical and deeply intelligent voice for a restless generation." - El Cultural
For fans of Deborah Levy, Rachel Cusk and Leslie Jamison, Killing the Nerve captures the spirit of a generation that came of age in motion - global, self-aware, and searching for meaning in a world without anchors.
Not so much autofiction as autojournalism, Anna Pazos charts the end of youth and the beginning of adulthood for the global nomad generation. From the 'Mediterranean mediocrity' of bourgeois Barcelona to the chaos of Erasmus days in Thessaloniki, from her first steps in journalism in Jerusalem to a transatlantic voyage with an unsuitable lover - and finally to post-MeToo, pre-pandemic New York - this is a portrait of a woman always moving, always questioning.
When she is forced back to Barcelona in 2021, Pazos turns her gaze inward, confronting family, memory, and the fault lines of Catalan identity. What begins as an escape becomes a reckoning - with self, with place, and with what it truly means to grow up.
Amazing Reader Reviews: ?????????? "Lyrical, incisive, and profoundly resonant - a mirror of a generation. For fans of Deborah Levy or Rachel Cusk, this novel will hit like a revelation." ?????????? "A clear-eyed, engaging account of a generation navigating freedom, uncertainty, and the search for meaning." ???????? "Anna Pazos has immense life experience - Killing the Nerve is a curious exploration of her journeys." ???????? "For fans of travel literature and conversational memoirs that capture modern relationships in all their messiness and beauty."
Reviews / Votes
Lyrical, incisive, and profoundly resonant, Killing the Nerve is not just memoir; it's a mirror of a generation. For fans of Deborah Levy or Rachel Cusk, this novel will hit like a revelation; restless, questioning, and indelible. -- ?????????? Reader Review Very Joan Didion -- Jordi Punti It powerfully conveys the anxiety, chaos, and disillusionment of a world hurtling towards collapse. -- Julia Guillamon Pazos has the spirit of a chronicler who is attentive to the challenges of the contemporary world, from the dissolution of affection to political violence. A catalogue of experiences that goes under a knife sharpened by scepticism, self-awareness and an iron will to think outside prefabricated ideological perceptions. -- Adria PuertolasMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Target group
Reading Age: 16 years, Interest Age: 16 years
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 193 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
220 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-0686934-6-5 (9781068693465)
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
Anna Pazos
Killing the Nerve
Auto-journalism, self-discovery, Catalan literature, English translation
E-Book
09/2025
Foundry Editions
€13.99
Available for download
Persons
Anna Pazos is a writer and documentary filmmaker. She has produced several short documentaries and non-fiction podcasts and has written columns and reports for El Pais, La Vanguardia, Jacobin and Le Monde Diplomatique. Between 2014 and 2015 she lived in Jerusalem, where she wrote for media outlets such as Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post. In 2017 she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study a postgraduate degree at NYU, where she also worked as a fact-checker at the New York Times Syndicate and as an editor and producer at the BBC. Since May 2020 she has co-hosted the podcast Les Golfes.