The Selected Stories of Mercè Rodoreda

The Selected Stories of Mercè Rodoreda

"The humor in the stories, as well as their thrill of realism, comes from a Nabokovian precision of observation and transformation of plain experience into enchanting prose."— Los Angeles Times Collected here are thirty-one of Mercè Rodoreda's most moving and challenging stories, presented in chronological order of their publication from three of Rodoreda's most beloved short story collections: Twenty-Two Stories , It Seemed Like Silk and Other Stories , and My Christina and Other Stories . These stories capture Rodoreda's full range of expression, from quiet literary realism to fragmentary impressionism to dark symbolism. Few writers have captured so clearly, or explored so deeply, the lives of women who are stuck somewhere between senseless modernity and suffocating tradition—Rodoreda's "women are notable for their almost pathological lack of volition, but also for their acute sensitivity, a nearly painful awareness of beauty" (Natasha Wimmer). Mercè Rodoreda is widely regarded as the most important Catalan writer of the twentieth century. Exiled to France during the Spanish Civil War, and only able to return to Catalonia in the mid-1960s, she wrote a number of highly praised works, including The Time of the Doves and Death in Spring. Martha Tennent was born in the U.S, but has lived most of her life in Barcelona where she served as founding dean of the School of Translation and Interpreting at the University of Vic. She translates from Spanish and Catalan, and received an NEA Translation Fellowship for her work on Rodoreda. This haunting selection of 30 short stories by acclaimed Catalan writer Rodoreda (1908�83) addresses the gritty complexities of life and longing, capturing elements of both chaos and calm resolution. Rodoreda�s diverse protagonists often seek out love to repair their lives. In so doing, they imagine ways to flee their everyday existence and grapple with mortality and loss. In �Guinea Fowls,� a young boy exploring his new neighborhood unwittingly stumbles into his first experience with death. In �Before I Die,� a wife struggles to come to terms with her husband�s past love, discovered in secret letters enclosed in his suitcase. �White Geranium� follows a bitter widower in the immediate days after the loss of his wife, with a house cat morphing into a sublime antagonist. A night of celebration surreptitiously connects the paths of two young people in �Carnival.� Embracing simplicity and surrealism, these thoughtfully chosen stories are presented in chronological order by their original publication dates to create a collection of intricate and entrancing tales. --Leah Strauss "The word modest comes to mind. Not modest in scope or ambition, but modest in the rendering. Modest in the old-fashion sense of the word: humble, thoughtful, stories which seem to beg your pardon for taking the time to read them. These are stories best read on a Sunday afternoon train ride through the rolling Spanish hill country, a café con leche steaming next to you as white villages pass your window. They whisper about the horrors of the war but eschew bloodshed and scenes of battle. They offer poverty and crushing despair by presenting characters filled with hopes and dreams. They break your heart by making your root for the underdog who doesn't stand a chance in hell."—Richard Farrell, Numero Cinq "Rodoreda plumbs a sadness that reaches beyond historic circumstances . . . an almost voluptuous vulnerability."— The Nation Mercè Rodoreda is widely regarded as the most important Catalan writer of the twentieth century. Exiled to France during the Spanish Civil War, and only able to return to Catalonia in the mid-1960s, she wrote a number of highly praised works, including The Time of the Doves and Death in Spring. Martha Tennent was born in the U.S, but has lived most of her life in Barcelona where she served as founding dean of the School of Translation and Interpreting at the University of Vic. She translates from Spanish and Catalan, and received an NEA Translation Fellowship for her work on Rodoreda. Used Book in Good Condition