Life Embitters

(Paperback)

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The waves of the sea, the hardness of rolled tobacco; these are the kind of details that acquire an unusual form of grandeur in Pla s prose . This collection of his letters, translated into English for the first time, diligently chronicle the nuts and bolts of daily living in turn of the century Catalonia.This title is one of a number of Archipelago titles which draw attention to the literary landscape of Catalonia. Notably, Private Life, Josep Maria de Segarra s great novel, is forthcoming from Turnaround in August 2015.

Reviews

"Moving around the capitals of Europe in a time of depression and unremitting melancholy, Pla often serves up small moments of perhaps unintentional brilliance [...]Students of Orwell's journalism and of Kapuscinski will be glad to discover Pla, whose melancholy resembles that of his contemporary Stefan Zweigand for some of the same reasons." Kirkus Reviews


"This new translation of Josep Pla is an unclassifiable, happy mix of stories, memoir, essays, anecdotes and travel pieces, all brought together by Pla's wonderfully direct, ironic style... Combining general comment and the immediacy of close observation, he helps us see the world afresh." Michael Eaude,Catalonia Today

"Josep Pla was a great noticer of things and places; his gaze was alert and dry; he wrote in a style which registered both the smallest detail and the large picture. His relationship to Catalan identity and Spanish history was complex, often ambiguous. His relationship, however, to the scene in front of him, or the days in which he lived, remains fascinating for its clarity, its sharpness, its originality and its wit. On display in his work is a glittering and sparkling sensibility." Colm Tibn

"Plas book of narrations shows us why this Catalan writer is considered the finestof his generation. Each narrative piece is like a still-life, focusing on the tangible and memorable things of this world. Pla invites us to share his perspective on the complexity and sensuality of our surroundings." Book Riot

"Pla is [...] one of Catalonias greatest authors." Three Percent

"Pla has often been compared with the great Joseph Roth they were both astute witnesses of their respective worlds... Outstanding."Eileen Battersby,The Irish TImes

"Considered one of the most influential Catalan authors of the twentieth century, [Pla] was born and raised in the Empord, and over the course of his life wrote over 30,000 pages of prose in which he diligently catalogued the landscape and the life and habits of the people of the region. His complete works, published and republished over the years, contain marvelous descriptive passages that capture the landscape's history and its complex topography at once." Words Without Borders

"An excellent translation by Bush delightful. Pla loves people and honest conversation. His ear for dialogue is faultless, his snatches of overheard conversation are meticulously realistic The tone of the stories is often a bubbling good humor..." Nick DiMartino

"Life Embitters, probably the best book in Josep Pla's vast body of work, is a literary feast which combines all his best qualities at once: the sharpness of the journalist, the modern style of the novelist, and the insight and lucidity of the autobiographer.Through these stories, Pla distills the experiences of a young man traveling around a dramatically changing Europe.This is the book I recommend whenever someone asks me about Catalan literature." Jordi Punti, translator and author of Lost Luggage

Author Bio

Josep Pla (1897-1981) was a Catalan writer and journalist who lived in Spain, France, Italy, England, Germany, and Russia. He was awarded The Gold Medal of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia for his contribution to Catalan literature. His complete works are published in thirty-eight volumes. Peter Roland Bush is an English literary translator. He has translated works from Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan to English, including the work of Juan Carlos Onetti, Juan Goytisolo, and Fernando de Rojas.