Bruno Blog

This week, the Catalan book fair takes place and it is the last book fair before the start of the school year. I know it sounds horrible but when the school year starts, then the total normality comes back, and it is a pity for some of us or a relief for some others. Anyway, what I would like to encourage is to start the school year with a book, because good stories always help and, for the readers that find in reading real moments of peace, of relaxation and well-being, it is really a luxury to have a book fair that helps to choose the adventure that will help you with the beginning of your routine.

Is there anything better than a good book to read during the weekends of September at a terrace when it’s no longer hot, but not cold neither? Or when you get home, tired of the entire day, what is better than sitting on the couch to keep on with that reading that has trapped you, even if it’s late, when all are sleeping and you have that half an hour just for yourself. It is definitely a luxury, and we have many novels that, if you haven’t read them yet, you should not miss… Because there is a book for every reader, as I have said many times, and all you have to do is meet with one another. That’s why this fair is an ideal time to choose. Let us remind you some of our novelties:

• LA HIJA DEL CAPITÁN GROC, by Víctor Amela, which is sweeping the market, because it captures both men and women, it is a great epic story but it also deals with feelings.
• ETHERIA by Coia Valls, the story of an intrepid traveler of the fourth century, and the last novel of a writer that no longer needs presentation.
• UN AÑO Y MEDIO by Sílvia Soler, more than a novel, it is a real brand of the house that leads us to think about life and family.
• SUEÑOS A MEDIDA by Núria Pradas, the novel tells a gripping story about fashion and the beginning of the flagship store of Barcelona, ​​Santa Eulalia.
• EL TIEMPO DE LA LUZ by Sílvia Tarragó, focused on the galleries of the Avenue of Light, these galleries no longer exist but they had their moment of glory in Barcelona, ​​and lives there put their bit.
• LA MONTAÑA MALDITA by Begoña García Carteron, another historical novel with strong characters that reveals a very turbulent period of Barcelona, ​​in a state of siege. Some powerful female characters that give us life to a hard history, and that many of us were unaware of.
• OPERACIÓ JUDES, by Jordi Solé, black and exciting novel of the detective Pol Vidal who, along with Detective Boix by Albert Villaró, and his novel LA BÍBLIA ANDORRANA, are a great gift for fans of this genre.
• UN PERRO by Alejandro Palomas, a fantastic novel that goes right to your heart, like UNA MADRE, that has already been reedited 11 times.
• DIAMANTE AZUL by Care Santos, magnificent novel by the great author of Mataró, whose mark transports us again to the first decades of the twentieth century.
• EL INFORME AHNENERBE, by Santi Baró, historical thriller, very well written, it will hook you up from the first page.
• LA FILLA DE LILITH by Glòria Sabaté, historical novel of medieval times in Barcelona. A new voice that we recommend without a doubt for the readers of that genre.

Here I leave a link about the official web of the fair, where will see the activities of the fair and the signatures of the authors. I encourage you to take a walk around the cathedral, always pleasant, so that you may find that book that will help you with the start of the season. As you can see, there is something for everyone and a book is always a gift so, although the slope of September is harsh, reading is a perfect complement and despite what some people would think, it is not expensive. So, have a good weekend full of readings and, as the slogan of the Fair says, DEVOUR THEM! And I would add: then you go for more.

Let’s confess a secret because despite I don’t like doing so, I cannot keep silent when the book I’m telling you about today, VIATGE AL CENTRE DEL MUSICAL, is so special to me for many reasons. The first one, and this is the secret, is that I would have loved being a musical actress. I’ve always enjoyed theater and I’m fascinated by musicals, so I’ve followed Dagoll Dagom’s career since I was a child. It’s an honor for me being the literary agent of Bozzo, though he might not know it, because he touches the two worlds I love most, books and musicals. I must say that I have never tried to work in the theater panorama, less in the musicals, because I sing terribly, and this is my frustrated dream. We all have some not accomplished dreams, this is mine. The second reason why it is so special is that since I first saw MAR I CEL, a musical I have seen as many times as it has been performed, I have always thought about how difficult it is to work as an actor and transmit feelings -and, on the top of that, singing! I realized it was a job, as the writer’s, that not everyone can do well but many dare to try. The third reason is that I’ve always enjoyed this musical with my family, something that we culturally share, like books, and I’m proud that we’ve been able to keep this tradition from parents to children. The first time my brother, my sister and I saw MAR I CEL was a Christmas Eve, and every Christmas Eve ever since we go to the theater together, with no exception. And these last two years even my son, who is almost twelve, has joined us because he can now appreciate something so beautiful, and yet so difficult as a good play.

In this book Joan Lluís tells how his company opted for musicals with a wonderful arrangement of the MIKADO opera, then with MAR I CEL, which was a categorical success and then followed with the challenging FLOR DE NIT, written by Vázquez Montalbán, a tribute to Paral.lel Av in Barcelona. This is a book written with humor that will not disappoint any Dagoll Dagom or Bozzo fan since Joan Lluís not only knows everything about theater but also knows how to write in a friendly way to get the interest of the reader, exactly the same way he gets the attention of the audience in the theater. So, all those who have lived all these plays will love reading this chronicle, which is also is the portrait of a time. And for the curious ones, this is a book full of fun sparks that everyone will love, an amazing gift book for lovers of a profession. We are a lucky country that can enjoy extraordinary actors and actresses

14th Century, medieval times and Barcelona, are three words that bring me good memories. One of the first successes of the Agency had these three main ingredients, and now that the Agency is turning 15 years old, I look back and CATHEDRAL OF THE SEA is still the book that has set a before and after for me. Now they say that there will be a second part and the truth is that it’s sad for me to know and not be able to be involved, but that’s what the life of the agent is like. The loyalty of the authors depends on a lot of things, and even if the intention is always to have a long relationship, it’s not always the case.

However every time there’s a new book, the thrill is great, and that’s what happened to me with LA FILLA DE LILITH by Glòria Sabaté, who talks about medieval Barcelona and all its many curiosities. With characters that are truly well outlined, and with various mysteries to discover, Glòria invites us to read a historic novel with a mysterious murder and the fears and superstitions the people had at the time and that even touched some of their lives. An addictive novel, and very well written, which is an excellent premiere by an author that has promise. And I hope that our relationship is long and successful, since I started with the three magic words, and magic, like she says in her novel, lives among us and exists in different shapes. It’s a good start, with no doubt, in every way.

Longing is an emotion, a feeling, which I’m sure we’ve all felt sometime. In my case it mixes with the nostalgia of the things I no longer have, and especially of past times, where my memories are of feeling good, of complete happiness. I miss the summers with my grandparents, who are no longer here, the meals with family when everyone showed up and the table was filled with food mixed with hope. The Friday dinners, and the weekends, with my siblings and my parents when we ate the pizza slices from a little shop at Roger de Flor Street, and it was our weekly feast, while we watched the show Un, Dos, Tres together.

All these nostalgic memories, and many more which I could talk about until you got bored, but if I continue, I might get emotional; they have been awoken after reading a novel like EL TIEMPO DE LA LUZ, by Silvia Tarragó, published by Umbriel in Spanish and by Columna in Catalán.

Silvia Tarragó, the author, is able to transport us to 1940, the inauguration of the first subterranean galleries in Europe, the luxurious Avenida de la Luz, in the Barcelona of the postwar. Julia is the main character and she will be witness to the evolution of the gallery and the different traders that make it up. Rosita, the daughter of the bakers, who lived her first love with the attendant at the cinema inside the galleries.  A strange lady who will open a typewriter store (remember the Olivettis?), a perfume seller who’s involved with men in the regime, and a railway worker who’s a poet. We’ll see how these characters’ stories grow and intertwine; building an underworld filled with passion and hatred, but that keeps changing, decade after decade, feeling the exciting beat of Barcelona of the postwar, until the end of the eighties. A coral novel, where Barcelona is the background curtain again, but in which human relationships and love, are the main core to explain a period of new beginnings, and the spirit of the traders after a tough war. Another novel for all those who like to taste their memories and share them, which you can read quickly and leaves you wanting more.

These days there is an advertisement on TV that when I hear it, I love it. It is for the 75th anniversary of El Corte Ingles. A great nostalgic music that makes me think of when I was little, my grandmother who used to sew and made us great costumes, and wool sweaters, which itched me everywhere, but now I remember it fondly. I have never liked big stores, I have always defended the small neighborhood shop in front of the big monsters, but I like the ad and I confess that several times to go shopping in department stores has bailed me. However, small shops which survive, who defend their business every day, are the ones that I admire. And some of them started from nothing and now are big stores, big-name and centenarians.

This is the case of Santa Eulalia store in Barcelona, ​​which Núria Pradas has fictionalized the fantastic story of a family that despite the difficulties, has managed to reinvent itself and endure. The novel SUEÑOS A MEDIDA (Suma de Letras), and in Catalan, SOMNIS A MIDA (Columna) is a fascinating story of a family business that faces the challenges of haute couture, in a society that is heading towards a war. A shop where everything is possible. An entrepreneurial dream, two women marked by the same love, the friendship and the first fashion shows in the city. Glamour, love, elegance and a dream. Thus we witness the birth of the first collection of Santa Eulalia, his first fashion parade, its international projection and its transfer to Paseo de Gracia. With Laia, the daughter of one of the seamstresses of the fashion house, we will visit Barcelona in the 20s and the 30s and we meet characters who take us to decisive moments in the history of the city and the world fashion.

Barcelona’s great novel of this Sant Jordi for any generation.