Fulano's books

The literary season is somewhat consuming, not just for those people who live in the circle—for these people it's a lot. "Have you read So-and-so's book yet?" "No, not yet, I'm reading So-and-so." "I really liked So-and-so's, I laughed like crazy." "On the other hand, I couldn't finish So-and-so's. I don't know where this is going." It seems as if we're all working for a mysterious corporation that forces us not to miss anything and have an opinion on everything. Sant Jordi passes, and we take a breath. Books don't seem so urgent, and you can have a few days on your desk without reading them. When you attack them, it's because you feel like having a good time. In the Carnerian spirit of "estiu tot l'any," I've selected these books. The list combines recently published works (there's an emerging market in June for books to go on vacation) with others that I've particularly enjoyed throughout the year.

The star book of the moment is Lisa Cohen by Ada Klein Fortuny ( L'Altra ): it's a story about love, without any of the sadness that has plagued works exploring the subject for years. It tells the story of a woman who, as an adult, has a relationship with a man. She lives it with euphoric passion and delves into her past to understand and explain her treatment of men. It's not a romantic novel, because it also contains tragedies and serious events, but it exudes a zest for life that's captivating.

On the other side of the coin, Roser Cabré-Verdiell 's Que es morin els fills dels altres ( Males Herbes ) describes a world of anguish and foreboding, an obsessive fixation that, like a film noir, filters the light of Ocata, which ceases to be a beach in the contradictory Maresme region – residential and suburban – to become Hecate: a realm of mental shadows. Between Ada Klein Fortuny and Roser Cabré-Verdiell, we have, fresh out of the oven, Els temples solemnes ( Periscopi ), with a title that suits the publisher. It is a family story about the idea of ​​one's own home and the expectations created by relationships and parenthood. Glòria de Castro writes very well, with humor and sensitivity.

Julià de Jòdar is preparing the fifth book in his suite on the 20th century. For readers who haven't read his previous books, Variacions Gabriel Caballero ( Pont de Petroli ) is a good introduction. It brings together published and unpublished fragments, which function independently. It is a volume in the vein of Jòdar's great fragmentary books—the splendid Noi, ¿has vist la mare amagada entre les ombres?—with an umbilical relationship to the original novel.

A new Casajuana! A diplomat by profession, Carles Casajuana alternates novels set in distant countries with others that look at us from within, discussing Carner's return to Catalonia or the relationships between Catalan and Castilian writers. In La guerra dins la guerra (War Within the War) ( Proa ), he revives these two characters to discuss the post-war period and reflect on how we interpret history from contradictory points of view, in light of the May festivities of 1937.

A Pla from the beginning, who are the good ones! Maria-Arboç Terrades has edited a volume based on the book Coses vistes , from 1925, presents it to today's readers who are unfamiliar with him, and examines the complex game of manipulations, reissues and recycling of Josep Pla , starting with The Gray Notebook , which incorporated many of these stories and fragments into a sequence with its own rhythm and varied intentions. Many of these fragments—about distinctive characters or about Calella de Palafrugell—were published in the press. Coses vistes 1920-1925 ( Destino ) is a book to linger over the details and enjoy the writing.

–What did you think of critic Fulano's recommendations in La Vanguardia ?

–I don't know, I find him too obsessed with the idea that literature should be used for enjoyment.

–And there is something to that, isn’t there?