Nada
A Novel
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3.2 • 5 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Renowned as Spain’s The Catcher in the Rye, this passionate coming-of-age novel follows a rebellious college-age girl as she uncovers her family’s secrets in chaotic, polarized, post-Civil War Barcelona.
Andrea, an eighteen-year-old orphan, moves in with her volatile Barcelona relatives to attend the local University. Living in genteel squalor in a mysterious house on Calle de Aribau, Andrea relies on her wealthy, beautiful, bohemian friend Ena to prove that normal life exists beyond the gothic dwelling she calls home. In one year, as her innocence melts away, Andrea learns the truth about her overbearing and religious Aunt Angustias, her cruelly sensual, musically gifted uncle Román and his violent brother Juan, and her lovely Aunt Gloria, who provides the family's bread with furtive gambling expeditions. She also learns the truth about Ena—and why her friendship goes hand in hand with her interest in Andrea’s family. Peppered with dark humor, energy, and hope, Carmen Laforet's stunning classic is the story of a young woman who endures the harsh realities of post-Civil War Barcelona, emerging wiser and stronger, and with a bright future ahead of her.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Available in English for the first time in the U.S., Laforet's moody and sepulchral debut novel, a 1945 Spanish cult classic, has been given new life by acclaimed translator Grossman. The story follows 18-year-old Andrea as she spends a year with crazy relatives in a squalid, ramshackle townhouse on Calle de Aribau in post "civil war Barcelona. Although Andrea is young, she isn't adventurous or carefree like others her age, and much of the action takes place within her extended family's dank flat or along the melancholic city streets immediately surrounding it. But the narrative is no less interesting because of this, as it leaves plenty of room for the larger-than-life characters that occupy the house to fully flex their gross vitality and charming decrepitude. The violent Uncle Juan and his manic wife, Aunt Gloria; the crusty, devilish, magnetic violinist, Uncle Rom n; insanely embittered Aunt Angustias; and an oblivious, antiquated grandmother all offer up their own chaotic storylines, while perfectly balancing Andrea's stoic, ruminative personality. To compliment their frenetic vignettes, Andrea's narration is gorgeously expressive, rippling with emotion and meaning. U.S.-bound fans of European lit will welcome this Spanish gothic to the States with open arms and a half-exasperated, What took you so long?
