“A work of overwhelming intelligence, a proposal in which language, ideas, and art stand outâ€. This is how the jury defined Els irredeems (LaBreu), the book by Cristina Garcia Molina that has won the Llibreter prize in Catalan, as it was released this morning and it was delivered at a party tonight in Paral·lel 62.
The author has recognized that “it is not an easy or pleasant story, and it has not come out in two days”, and has confessed that “I thought it would be a dead book or that at some point I would end up forgetting it. I’m proud to have made it to the end.”
The book is a literary triptych, a three-part narrative that is a whole language experience with three independent stories that end up dealing with the theme of roots. According to its editor, Ester Andorrà , “an artistic and vital manifesto, on the threshold of a small explosion and that opens paths for a new way of narrating.”
The book by Cristina Garcia Molina (Granollers, 1975) had already been a finalist for the Ventanas award, which Roser Cabré-Verdiell ended up winning with Aioua (Males Herbes).
In the other literature category, the winner was Damon Galgut with The Promise, from (Libros del Asteroide/Les Hores): “The relationship of men with the earth is one of the great themes of contemporary literature. We know the story of a family in which a promise not kept hangs over the characters. Great writing and an original structureâ€, in the words of the jury.
In Galgut’s absence, the editor Maria Sempere, from Les Hores (it was the third year that she had a finalist book, but until now she had not won it), explained that Galgut’s book represents her line: “issues that concern individuals to at the same time approach another reality, in this case the history of South Africa and the disillusionment after the end of apartheid, and it does so with an innovative styleâ€. Luis Solano, from Asteroide, recognized the importance of an award that is not only one of the few in Spain for published work, but also serves to vindicate the work of booksellers, an essential link.
In the children’s and youth category in Catalan, the winner was Roger Tarrés with the first installment of the fantastic trilogy Fills d’Èodhum, L’amenaça verda (Fanbooks), a book that editor Patrizia Campana was very proud of because it did not it is easy to find quality fantasy and proximity, and he also stressed that “it is incredible that a new author is so mature as a writer”. Tarrés guaranteed good adventures with “love, hate, a completely new world, friendship and revenge, and a very brave protagonist”, but which are not limited only to young people, but can be enjoyed at any age.
In the children’s and youth category of other literature, the winner was Pardaleta / Gorrioncita (Meraki), by Joana Estrela, a work that according to the jury “introduces the reader into a world of subtleties that go far beyond adolescent love, with a honest and close text that plays and is nourished by real and natural illustrationsâ€. For the publisher Alba Besora, the book is a graphic novel in which “a shy and observant girl searches for her identity, and gives visibility to the LGTBI collective.
Regarding the illustrated album, the winner was Hi havia una forma / Once upon a way (Barrett), by the Gazhole couple
Catalan version, here
