Bruno Blog

I love places which have a special scent, its own personal scent. In my own place I try to make our clothes have this clean smell, and for the home to have a touch of vanilla and coconut. Some people have no sense of smell or do not use it, but I, instead, associate it to certain things, certain moments, certain people. Freshly brewed coffee, that perfume I adore, an antique shop scent, species… I think life’s got a colour and a scent that flows with it, hence why Núria Pradas newest novel has absolutely delighted me. EL AROMA DEL TIEMPO narrates Pablo Soto’s life story, orphan at 11 years old who has to move out, during the World War, to Grasse, perfume capital located in France, where he moves in with his aunt, uncle and cousin. In France he does not only find a family, his family, who love and take care of him, but also has the chance to meet Ernest Beaux, the perfume master, who will introduce him Coco Chanel. It is the moment the perfume of all times is created: Chanel Nº5, the perfume which will make it to eternity. Neither an impossible love nor the Great War that is taking over Europe will be an obstacle to pursue his dream and to become a great perfume master. But he will also become a man who runs away from his past. An impossible flight, because, usually, life is scented with a perfume which fades away as times go by, or maybe it does not. It depends on the scent you choose to keep on walking.

EL AROMA DEL TIEMPO takes us to the glamorous 20^th Century, from Grasse where high perfumery was born, in Post-war Barcelona, through Coco Chanel’s Paris. A sophisticated and fancy novel as Núria’s latest success, SUEÑOS A MEDIDA, which was published in 14 languages and rapidly became a massive hit. EL AROMA DEL TIEMPO unveils who and how perfumes are made, and tells the story of a self-made who achieves success after facing and overcoming a difficult journey. A positive novel, set on a misty scene, but nicely scented, it smells of success, because novels like this one, with love, war, passion and perfume can only be one of the bestselling titles and one of the most gifted for Valentine’s day, Sant Jordi (Saint George’s day), Mother’s day or any other day you want to make someone happy, and with it you will also be able to give a new scent to your own life. What else could we possibly ask for? A marvellous work by a marvellous author who keeps on growing, and if she has already reached the top in Children and Young Adult world, she is making her way in Adult’s world too. Thank you for this amazing story that will make you fall in love with it and its nice scent.

Being an agent is always trouble, I am not going to lie. Being in between two sides is not an easy work, and if you add to this we are in the business world, it gets even worse. The journey of my life lead me to this profession without even realizing. A profession in which you can only learn by doing, a profession in which, I think, you can never learn everything about it since there is always something left to surprise you. We are always compared with art traders and footballer representatives, which may have trouble too, and in that sense I don’t envy them at all, although for other things I definitely do, for sure. And it is in Miquel Esteve’s new novel NO DEIXIS MAI DE MIRAR AL CEL published by Columna were we are introduced to dating agencies, a business which seemed to lose fame with social media but, which actually, it is in its top days.

Some may think agents may be obsolete because of technology and how fast it keeps evolving, but having by your side someone who is not a machine, someone who vibrates, someone who has feelings, pays attention, holds your hand and shares happy moments, sad moments, successes and defeats, is something technology is not able to provide, at least for now. And this is why I have loved this perfect thriller, original and very ambitious written by an author who masters language, proved in his previous novels, and now who has chosen dating agencies as the background to thrill us. A novel with rhythm, with a corpse, Inma Esparza’s corpse, who has been found dead on a bank with a note ‘’keep an eye on the sky’’ and a wedding agency card in her purse: Nirvana. A novel with an inspector: Adolfo, who, with Ester’s help, justice lawyer, are determined to solve the mystery behind Inma’s death.

The truth is that I don’t want to spoil anything about this novel that the Publisher and I have absolutely loved because of it being such an unconventional thriller. It’s got all the ingredients of a thriller, ingredients that the author has masterfully combined with some more giving the book a fresher and different tone which creates a new subgenre in thriller.  We still don’t know how to name this new style, a style which is able to capture thriller lovers and many others, that’s is why I am so confident this book will succeed. Do you want to know who Inma Esparza’s murderer is? Do you want to know which are human weak points we all have and no one admits? This is THE novel for those who love mystery but need more. Ideal to write on you Sant Jordi’s wish list.

How many times have I referred to friendship in this blog? The truth is that it is impossible not to since many novels I like to recommend are based on the topic of friendship. For me it’s enormously important, it’s always been, hence why I’ve had so many disappointing experiences, because I have such big expectations out of friendship that I always wanted it to be the same for everyone, unfortunately it is not so. Everyone has different ideas of friendship, and no, there is no way you can ask anyone to share your same idea. For me, a friend is a treasure, someone who is by your side when things go right and when things go wrong, someone whom you can talk to about anything and everything, someone who listens you and someone with whom silences can be shared.

Life has taught me that there are few true friends, real true friends, and that we have to ‘make an effort’ to keep them by our side. We live surrendered by people who make us laugh, make us have fun and collect good memories, but true friends, real friends, there are less than a few, at least in my life. One of my biggest joys is to have back a friend I lost on the way because of a misunderstanding I’ve not been able to understand yet, but I’m sure I was mistaken, thankfully that person is back in my life and is here to stay. That is my long life friendship. The truth is I’ve made some great new friendships lately, many have to do with sport, and this friendships make me happy and I hope they stay by my side for a long time. I hope we can make it until forever, this is one of my goals.

And for now, one of these big friendships I’m glad to have by my side is Sílvia Tarragona, author of the book I’m so pleased to introduce you TAL COMO ÉRAMOS/TAL COM ÉREM (The Way We Were). She asked for support and I was committed to help her. We spend many afternoons having a coffee, catching up and building this novel, which she’s written. A novel which is an ode on friendship and on human relationships, and on family too, those who are always by our side. It is the pursuit of a perfect life, which, Sandra, the main character, comes up to realize does not exist. But through the journey she discovers and learns how important it is to choose correctly the people you have by your side when overcoming difficulties and sharing happy moments. Sandra narrates the power of human relationships, the fight against any adversity, falling in love with the wrong person, and the pleasure of having people who are loving and caring, and who will be with her through thick and thin, to go on with life. Life goes on, and so do we, and may be TAL COMO ÉRAMOS/TAL COM ÉREM is a great example of personal overcoming in which my great friend Sílvia has been working so hard to astonish the reader, to make us dive deep into ourselves and to make the readers wonder and have a great time while reading it. Congratulations my dear Sílvia, you have definitely passed the test.

This Christmas Holidays I’ve been addicted to Netflix’s Stranger Things. At first, I thought it wasn’t made for me, but my 13 years old teenager kept insisting to watch it together and, to be honest, I do really look forward sharing his hobbies, films, TV series, paddle and whatever comes in the future. Now he is in those days that he still wants to spend time with me, although they say these days will soon come to an end, but the truth is that I refuse to believe they will end, but just in case, I live in the moment, and I must say I have really enjoyed the TV series and I, especially, have really enjoyed watching it all together, after having had our dinner, while sitting on the sofa. Strange occurrences, mysteries, loyalty and a bit of everything to keep our eyes on the TV, discuss what is going to happen and wait, anxiously, for the next day to watch the following chapter.

School has begun again, we’ve finished watching the TV series, but much more is on its way, so I’ve recommended my son a book, since it made me feel the same ‘‘fear’’, that same tension, I felt when watching Stranger Things. It was XAVIER GUAL’S LA NOIA DE LA CARAVANA (The Motorhome Girl), winner of the Ramon Muntaner Award in 2017 published by Fanbooks, and that I can assure you you’ll be hooked from the very beginning. There are no strange occurrences, but mystery is present through the development of the novel, taking place in an abandoned camp in the middle of the woods, where Laura and Kilian spend the night. Laura isn’t in good spirits, and when she wakes up she discovers Kilian is missing and she soon begins to discover some successes that will risk her life. However, she is able to overcome her fears until she finds out what is really going on.

A very well written, well composed, in the author’s own personal style, which won’t disappoint anyone, young or adult, because it’s a work suitable for all readers, one of those you begin to read on a Friday and finish on a Sunday because you just cannot take your hands off it. As in the TV series, you need to know what is about to happen next… What else could you ask for? Even more, what is better, not only TV series are able to hook us, this magnificent book achieves so too, and really successfully what is amazing; so there you go, high voltage reading for everyone.

We are on a countdown to Christmas day and there are only a couple of days left before the beginning of a very well needed break after this year’s last term. Now it is the time to remember all the good, to be thankful for it and to collect these moments, to keep them in our life album and to never forget them. For me, 2017 has been a year of reuniting with old friends and with friends that I though I’d lost, but we are back together, and we are stronger and better than ever. Life has given me a second chance and I’m not going to waste it, because as time goes by you realize your appreciation for the others keeps increasing and you become more selective with people you choose to be around you. Hence why having back one of my bestest friends and having new ones is great as it is having those who have been here for a long time and those whom we have shared loads of moments, so there are several reasons to define this year 2017 as the Friendship Year. As in Care Santos’ MEDIA VIDA, awarded with the Nadal award at the begging of the year, past memories and old friendships always come back, for the good or for the bad.

2017 has also been a year of self-improvement and personal growth, and because of books as Eva Sandoval’s TU PODER NINJA, I’ve been able to think and understand more easily that there is no need to fight to reach your dream. It’s also been a year full of knowledge, of searching and finding, and with Francesc Miralles’ and Héctor García’s IKIGAI, I’ve discovered what makes me move with more determination in this world. And in these pleasing reading moments I’ve had the company of amazing characters as Guille and Amalia, created by Alejandro Palomas to enter our lives and never leave, or Rebeca, Barbara Alves’ novel main character, whom I’ve laughed my head out with the company of a Nutella bottle on my bedside table. And many other vibrant novels by authors such as Paz Castelló, Susana Rodríguez Lezaun, Núria Pradas, Esther Sanz, Gabriel García Oro, Carmen Conde , Xulio Ricardo Trigo or Sílvia Tarragó who have made of this year a year full of good readings with elements I will for ever keep in my memory box all together with my memories of 2017, with a huge smile, because books are our journey partners in each and every sense, and I feel lucky to be surrounded by these wonderful gifts.

My suggestion is to fill this Christmas with books, they are not only one of the best presents we can give, because reading is living, understanding, educating, enjoying, thinking and having fun. So I add here the best catalogue so that you can pick a book for every loved one, they will be hugely thankful, for sure.

Merry Christmas and a Wonderful 2018 for all of us.