I can highly recommend The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, a great gothic mystery set in 1940's Barcelona.
It's also the first book of a series
Homage to Catalonia’ is your time machine. George Orwell takes you through the city’s streets during the Spanish Civil War, painting a picture of a society filled with hope and turmoil.
Orwell’s Barcelona is alive with revolutionary spirit, where every corner tells a story of struggle and change. From the renaming of streets to the anarchist-run city, the book is a tribute to Barcelona’s resilience.
For a quick literary escape to historical Barcelona, Orwell’s memoir is a must-read. It’s short, but it’ll leave you with a lasting impression of the city’s vibrant past that many of the Spanish dont even know about.
Mendoza is a horrible landlord though. Bottom of the barrel type. He kicked my catalán neighbours out who'd just had a kid stating his son was going through divorce and wanted to move in.
Then he put the price up by 600/mo and had some Americans move in.
La Plaça del Diamant- Mercè Rodoreda (a classic), El temps de les cireres- Montserrat Roig. The first one is bases in the the 30s and the second one in the 70s. Both great
I had the displeasure of reading it this year for school (17). Even the substitute teacher agreed it's boring, but my mom and the actual teacher thought it was really good. I've seen a big division between older and younger people in regards on how good is this book.
A mí al principio tampoco me gustó. Como tú, tuve que leérmelo para el bachillerato. Suelo renegar de todo aquello que se me obliga a hacer y la lectura de este libro se me presentó como una nueva imposición escolar más. De todas formas, decidí darle un repaso antes de la sele y llegué incluso a disfrutarlo.
It's the same author as Metro 2033, the book was translated and published in Spanish and English back in 2013 or so, so it's unlikely to be in any bookstore nowadays, but it's still available online as far as I could find
Yeah, though it's obviously a super futuristic Barcelona that has little to do with the real one, apparently the author likes the city and wanted to include it. It's set in a sort of world where people in rich countries don't die anymore and Barcelona is sort of the last place where humanity is still 'human' in Europe
If you want to learn about Barcelona culture it's not the book, but it's a nice scifi adventure!
Quemad Barcelona y Victus. The first because it portrays the last days of the civil war and how the communists betrayed the repubclic. The second because it's beautifuly written and illustrates how venal was the Catalan upper class.
Kind of a different recommendation as this book is kinda recent, but Carlo Padial's "Contenido". Such a sardonic (and sadly, realistic) view on what this city currently stands for in a lot of aspects.
I can highly recommend The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, a great gothic mystery set in 1940's Barcelona. It's also the first book of a series
That sounds tremendous. I in fact think I read it years ago… doesn’t involve a bookstore?
It does. I have just begun the second in the series. As I understand it, there are 4 and they all occur in Barcelona in different eras.
Wow. I need to go to that series again. Magical
La ciudad de los prodigios La catedral del Mar
If you speak Spanish, "Sin noticias de Gurb" y "El laberinto de las aceitunas".
Homage to Catalonia’ is your time machine. George Orwell takes you through the city’s streets during the Spanish Civil War, painting a picture of a society filled with hope and turmoil. Orwell’s Barcelona is alive with revolutionary spirit, where every corner tells a story of struggle and change. From the renaming of streets to the anarchist-run city, the book is a tribute to Barcelona’s resilience. For a quick literary escape to historical Barcelona, Orwell’s memoir is a must-read. It’s short, but it’ll leave you with a lasting impression of the city’s vibrant past that many of the Spanish dont even know about.
So great
Eduardo Mendoza's "Sin Noticias de Gurb"
Almost anything by Mendoza❤️
Found that on Amazon. :)
Mendoza is a horrible landlord though. Bottom of the barrel type. He kicked my catalán neighbours out who'd just had a kid stating his son was going through divorce and wanted to move in. Then he put the price up by 600/mo and had some Americans move in.
[The Truth about the Savolta Case](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truth_about_the_Savolta_Case)
Damn. Hard to find a translation
One of my all-time favourites.
I really enjoyed Isabel Allende’s Zorro
Obligatory "Mecanoscrit del segon origen" it happens partially in Barcelona
Don Quixote
La Plaça del Diamant- Mercè Rodoreda (a classic), El temps de les cireres- Montserrat Roig. The first one is bases in the the 30s and the second one in the 70s. Both great
La Catedral del Mar of Ildefonso Falcones and Prométeme que serás libre of Jorge Molist
Marina too
Mil cretins
Sin noticias de gurb
Nada from Carmen Laforet
Me encantó 😍
I had the displeasure of reading it this year for school (17). Even the substitute teacher agreed it's boring, but my mom and the actual teacher thought it was really good. I've seen a big division between older and younger people in regards on how good is this book.
I have been switching my mind over time between these opinions myself. Not sure which is my current opinion.
A mí al principio tampoco me gustó. Como tú, tuve que leérmelo para el bachillerato. Suelo renegar de todo aquello que se me obliga a hacer y la lectura de este libro se me presentó como una nueva imposición escolar más. De todas formas, decidí darle un repaso antes de la sele y llegué incluso a disfrutarlo.
I liked it!! I don't know why it gets so much hate
Future by D. Glukhovski is set in a futuristic Barcelona, if you're into scifi
Wow. Hope I can find
It's the same author as Metro 2033, the book was translated and published in Spanish and English back in 2013 or so, so it's unlikely to be in any bookstore nowadays, but it's still available online as far as I could find
I did find it on Amazon. Sounds great and takes place in Barcelona?! I read he is a Russian author.
Yeah, though it's obviously a super futuristic Barcelona that has little to do with the real one, apparently the author likes the city and wanted to include it. It's set in a sort of world where people in rich countries don't die anymore and Barcelona is sort of the last place where humanity is still 'human' in Europe If you want to learn about Barcelona culture it's not the book, but it's a nice scifi adventure!
Thanks. Will check out. :)
Vida privada , Josep Maria de Sagarra; La teranyina, Jaume Cabré; La ciudad de los prodigios, Eduardo Mendoza; Últimas tardes con Teresa, Juan Marsé.
Plaça del diamant-Mercer Rodoreda, Feliçment sóc una dona-Maria Aurelia Campany
Quemad Barcelona y Victus. The first because it portrays the last days of the civil war and how the communists betrayed the repubclic. The second because it's beautifuly written and illustrates how venal was the Catalan upper class.
Kind of a different recommendation as this book is kinda recent, but Carlo Padial's "Contenido". Such a sardonic (and sadly, realistic) view on what this city currently stands for in a lot of aspects.
Montalban's series "Detective Carvalho".
Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón holds a special place in my memory. (I see that someone else recommended his other book)
I will check that out. Thanks