Stone in a Landslide
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Review
"A piece of world literature: In just one hundred pages and in sparse language a whole life story unfolds." --Inforadio, Kultur
"This book possesses such force and overpowering beauty, I haven't read something like this for a long time."
--Elke Heidenreich in her TV show lesen
"This book possesses such force and overpowering beauty, I haven't read something like this for a long time." --Elke Heidenreich in her TV show "lesen"
"A piece of world literature: In just one hundred pages and in sparse language a whole life story unfolds."
--Inforadio, Kultur
"This book possesses such force and overpowering beauty, I haven't read something like this for a long time."
--Elke Heidenreich in her TV show lesen
"This book possesses such force and overpowering beauty, I haven't read something like this for a long time." --Elke Heidenreich in her TV show "lesen"
"A piece of world literature: In just one hundred pages and in sparse language a whole life story unfolds."
--Inforadio, Kultur
Product 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. This story presents a fascinating timeless voice, down to earth and full of human contradictory nuances. Its' the expression of someone who searches for understanding in a changing world but senses that ultimately there may be no such thing. The Catalan modern classic, first published in 1985, is now in its 50th edition, and has sold over 50 000 copies in the last two years in Germany alone.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It was a pleasure to read Stone in a Landslide, the ficitional life-story of a Catalonian woman living in a village deep in the Pyrenees. The author, Maria Barbal, is a highly regarded Catalan writer and the translators have done a good job in translating the harsh tones of this difficult language into sparse but elegant English.
The story is told in the first person by Conxa, now an old lady of 80 and looks back on her life, reflecting on the events that shaped her and reluctantly accepting what has been a difficult journey for her. The voice the author gives her is convincing and changes through the book reflecting the innocence of childhood, the griefs and suffering of the years of the Civil War and the resignation of an old woman far from happy with life in the modern world.
The world of the small farmer in the early 20th century was constrained by a constant battle with the land. Large families meant a gang of potential helpers but also mouths to feed and bodies to clothe. At the age of eleven, the demands of six growing children living on one small farm are sufficient for Conxa's parents to send here to live with her aunt and uncle. They do not live a great distance away, but far enough to make home visits almost an impossibility for the busy families struggling to make a living from their small farms.
As Conxa grows into her teens, she gains the attention of families who are looking for a wife for their sons. Romance usually has little to do with this, but unlike so many young women of her generation, Conxa is able to marry for love. Eventually, the Civil War reaches the village and I will not go on to describe the story for fear of spoiling it for others but let me say that it contains scenes of drama, loss and unexpected deliverance.
This is a short novel (only 108 pages) but covers a vast amount of ground. The chapters are short, and its not difficult to imagine the elderly Conxa writing a short passage each day as she looks back on her life. The wisdom of age does not always lead to calm reflection and the anger and bitterness of some of the episodes has not been lessened by the years (but how could such painful events ever be soothed?). However, there are many descriptive passages which lift the heart and much fascinating detail about rural life in the Pyrenees. I welcome this publication which joins such a small number of other Catalan books available to English speakers.
The story is told in the first person by Conxa, now an old lady of 80 and looks back on her life, reflecting on the events that shaped her and reluctantly accepting what has been a difficult journey for her. The voice the author gives her is convincing and changes through the book reflecting the innocence of childhood, the griefs and suffering of the years of the Civil War and the resignation of an old woman far from happy with life in the modern world.
The world of the small farmer in the early 20th century was constrained by a constant battle with the land. Large families meant a gang of potential helpers but also mouths to feed and bodies to clothe. At the age of eleven, the demands of six growing children living on one small farm are sufficient for Conxa's parents to send here to live with her aunt and uncle. They do not live a great distance away, but far enough to make home visits almost an impossibility for the busy families struggling to make a living from their small farms.
As Conxa grows into her teens, she gains the attention of families who are looking for a wife for their sons. Romance usually has little to do with this, but unlike so many young women of her generation, Conxa is able to marry for love. Eventually, the Civil War reaches the village and I will not go on to describe the story for fear of spoiling it for others but let me say that it contains scenes of drama, loss and unexpected deliverance.
This is a short novel (only 108 pages) but covers a vast amount of ground. The chapters are short, and its not difficult to imagine the elderly Conxa writing a short passage each day as she looks back on her life. The wisdom of age does not always lead to calm reflection and the anger and bitterness of some of the episodes has not been lessened by the years (but how could such painful events ever be soothed?). However, there are many descriptive passages which lift the heart and much fascinating detail about rural life in the Pyrenees. I welcome this publication which joins such a small number of other Catalan books available to English speakers.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the story of Conxa, a young girl from a rural Catalan village in the early twentieth century and it follows her throughout her life, from being sent away from her parents (as they can't afford to feed all six children) to live with an Aunt and Uncle miles away, through to the years it takes to finally be accepted as a member of the village, to falling in love and having three children, being captured in the civil war and to Barcelona where she finally ends her days - and this all happens in the space of 128 short pages.
The prose is sparse and understated but it is this simplicity that makes it work so beautifully. Conxa is a wonderful narrator and tells her story, looking back on her long life as an old lady, remembering the taste of food, the smell of the meadows and dancing until she is dizzy, never once complaining about her lot or, never throwing herself a pity-party, rather recalling the events of a life in rural Spain.
This is a short read but has the right amount of gentle impact to make it a satisfying lite-bite. Recommended.
The prose is sparse and understated but it is this simplicity that makes it work so beautifully. Conxa is a wonderful narrator and tells her story, looking back on her long life as an old lady, remembering the taste of food, the smell of the meadows and dancing until she is dizzy, never once complaining about her lot or, never throwing herself a pity-party, rather recalling the events of a life in rural Spain.
This is a short read but has the right amount of gentle impact to make it a satisfying lite-bite. Recommended.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was intrigued that a woman's life story from childhood to old age could unfold in just 126 pages without seeming superficial and trivial. Conxa is a Catalan brought up in a farming community. She has never seen a city, or the sea. Her story is told in the simple language of a woman of her background and education, and this first translation into English beautifully captures the richness yet simplicity of her experience. She is ill at ease with the politics that will eventually engulf her husband and change her life for ever: `When we talked about such matters the same thing always happened to me. A thick fog came over my brain and from there it passed to my heart. It left me frozen and in the dark.'
Conxa tells her story in a series of time lapses between detailed vignettes that make her into someone you know rather than a woman you just happen to be reading about. She is born before the Spanish Civil War and lives through its outrages to end her days in unfamiliar surroundings far from home. She is the fifth of six children, a lot of mouths to feed and `not much land'. `We three youngest were told a hundred times that we were more of a burden than a blessing.' So Conxa is sent to live with her childless aunt Tia, and her uncle, `who owned land, at least half a dozen cows, poultry and rabbits, as well as a vegetable garden.' Her original family slowly recedes from her thoughts as she grows to love and respect her aunt, and meets and falls in love with the man she will marry.
It's beautiful, but it left me feeling somehow dissatisfied, wanting more. Although I knew it must be so, for me it was a mere taster rather than a meal. I would like to have known more about how Conxa felt and what happened between the snapshots she reveals. That is why I have given the book four stars instead of five, but it does not detract from my delight in reading it or in my readiness to recommend it to others.
Conxa tells her story in a series of time lapses between detailed vignettes that make her into someone you know rather than a woman you just happen to be reading about. She is born before the Spanish Civil War and lives through its outrages to end her days in unfamiliar surroundings far from home. She is the fifth of six children, a lot of mouths to feed and `not much land'. `We three youngest were told a hundred times that we were more of a burden than a blessing.' So Conxa is sent to live with her childless aunt Tia, and her uncle, `who owned land, at least half a dozen cows, poultry and rabbits, as well as a vegetable garden.' Her original family slowly recedes from her thoughts as she grows to love and respect her aunt, and meets and falls in love with the man she will marry.
It's beautiful, but it left me feeling somehow dissatisfied, wanting more. Although I knew it must be so, for me it was a mere taster rather than a meal. I would like to have known more about how Conxa felt and what happened between the snapshots she reveals. That is why I have given the book four stars instead of five, but it does not detract from my delight in reading it or in my readiness to recommend it to others.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Gets better as you read on
An old woman from a poor farming family in the Pyrenees of Catalonia looks back on her life. She remembers how she had to leave her crowded home as a teenage girl to go and live... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Phil O'Sofa
Subtle, quiet, yet powerful
Translated from the Catalan by Laura McGloughlin and Paul Mitchell
"I feel like a stone after a landslide. Read more
"I feel like a stone after a landslide. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Amy Henry
evocative and resonant
This is a lovely book. The writing is skilful in its simplicity and I liked the way a long life story was handled so briefly, with inevitable gaps, as though you were hearing an... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Amy J.
'a cloud of memories'
The second of three launch titles for Peirene Press, whose Beside The Sea I loved, is described as a Catalan modern classic. Read more
Published 20 months ago by William Rycroft
Stone in a Landslide
History has a way of sweeping people up as it relentlessly marches along its way. Tolstoy, in a long essay found as the epilogue to War and Peace, goes to great lengths to explain... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Damian Kelleher
Stone in a Landslide
Living in Spain I see many old derelict buildings which seem to tell the same story. An excellent read - easy, inoffensive and interesting. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Moli Lom
Stone in a landslide
This is a concise and perfectly written book that manages to tell of a life during the Spanish civil war without detracting from the impact on the reader by its sparse use of... Read more
Published 22 months ago by reader
winstonsdad view
This is Peirene no 2 and considered a catalan classic ,Maria Barbal is a teacher at secondary school ,she grew up in the Pallars region of spain stones in a landslide was her debut... Read more
Published 22 months ago by stuart allen
A beautiful book
This is a beautiful little book. It's simplicity is what made it shine for me. The story begins in Catalonia just after the turn of the twentieth century and it spans several... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Freckles
Another Marvellous Book from Peirene Press
When reading `Stone in a Landslide' I found it to have a rather reflective and nostalgic feel to it, despite the fact that I have never lived in Spain, though I have been quite a... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Simon Savidge Reads
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