Critters

BOOK REVIEW

CRITTERS

Author: Julià Guillamon From the reader report by: François Michel Durazzo

Rather than being a simple collection of anatomical or wildlife notes, poetry takes centre stage here, creating a captivating and surprising world. But for all that, man is never far away. The author’s own biography plays a discrete but important role, transforming this book into a series of anecdotes from around the time her partner is recovering from a stroke, an incident that she writes about in Cruzar la riera (2017). These tales bring the countryside to life, always in relation to the insects that are to be found in the villages. Her contemplation of this world of tiny creatures leads her to identify with an injured insect, an illustration of the fragility of life. The precise and poetic language is particularly elegant and supple, giving readers page after page of great joy. This book could take the form of a picture book illustrated with portraits of insects. The editor’s notes that accompany the book form a fitting close: “An encounter with the essential, what has formed us and what sustains us when everything seems to be collapsing. Because by taking care of the earth, we are also taking care of ourselves.”

PUBLISHED IN NEW SPANISH BOOKS FR

UTE KÖRNER LITERARY AGENT

Title CRITTERS LES CUQUES

Author Julià Guillamon Genre Literature Pages 156 Year of publication 2020 Number of editions 2 Language Catalan

Author’s biography: Julià Guillamon (Barcelona 1962) is the author of La Moravia (Moravia, 2011) and El barrio de la Plata (The Silver District, 2018) two novels that show the two faces of a single reality: the lives of simple people who believed in progress; the industrial crisis; personal drama; and the value of culture. The nucleus of this personal world is the book of experimental prose, La fabrica de fred (Fred’s Factory, 1991) and the essay, La ciudad interrumpida (The interrupted city, 2001) which was republished in 2019 along with another essay, El gran noveloide sobre Barcelona (“The big noveloid about Barcelona”) which is the key reference book with respect to the Barcelona’s transformation in the period from the 1970’s to when it hosted the Olympic games in 1992. 2017 saw the publication of Cruzar la riera (Crossing Riera), a first-hand account of seeing his partner come out of a coma after a brain haemorrhage. The author has reinvigorated the study of cultural history through his academic work and his exhibitions about the 1930’s; exile; the post-civil war era; the 1970’s; and postmodernity. www.juliaguillamon.com

Synopsis: Trapped in the city during the last hot week of July, the narrator recalls a scene from many years back: playing as a child on the streets of their town, and every so often coming across a rhinoceros beetle half dead on the tarmac. The scene might be repeated on any night in July, but right then the narrator wouldn’t be there to see it. The narrator’s partner is sleeping in the room next door recovering from a brain haemorrhage. The narrator feels like the rhinoceros beetle from their childhood memory: a wounded creature, trampled by life, missing a leg, barely moving, unable to summon the energy to fly away. Over three summers, Critters (Les Cuques or Mariposas de invierno y otras historias de la naturaleza) reconstructs the universe of family relationships and links them to the insects that creep among the grass and through the woods, living side by side with people.

Agency: Ute Körner Literary Agent, S.L.U. Agency description: The agency was founded in 1984. A specialist in literature imported from Germany and Italy and market leader in children’s and young adult literature. Publisher: Anagrama Publishing rights available from: Ute Körner Literary Agent, S.L.U. - CIF B62102777 Aragó 224, principal 2ª, Barcelona, Barcelona www.uklitag.com Contact: Sandra Rodericks [sandra.rodericks@uklitag.com] Phone: (+34) 628 224 195