Bruno Blog

Paz Castelló, writer of already 4 novels, comes back with a new one, La llave 104, also radical, where a woman is once again the main character. Power, success and money seems to be great enemies of honesty and many people who come to have it all become corrupt, specially when it’s all about politics, where everyone fights to keep his chair, to stand out, and not precisely for the teamwork. Paz Castelló has written an amazing thriller in her own personal style. The protagonist, Virginia Rives, enters the world of politics and she’s trapped by this net; she’s capable of anything in order to satisfy her own ambition: reinvent herself and escape from her past. A difficult past, obviously, which Virginia wishes to forget and prove herself she can be someone else. She discovers what it’s like to be fully involved in this world and how hard it is to control that feeling of “wanting more”, while at the same time she learns that in politics plans never come out as expected, especially when interests are marked by money and power.

This is a novel that exposes political corruption and that’s why it may feel uncomfortable to deal with, but which, at the same time, makes the reader think about what happened in the last decade in our country and about the limits we, as human beings, have to be able to control something as uncontrollable as the ambition. I think that many readers will like this book where Paz, after her own experience in the politics, has proven herself to be brave again and reveal what the political parties can do to achieve personal goals rather than common purposes, as it should be but it’s not the case. The answers to almost all these questions are safe behind the locks opened by the key 104… Or perhaps not.

I admire Paz for many things, because she’s a natural fighter, someone who chases her dreams because she believes they can be fulfilled. A brave woman, with a strong personality, and her books cannot escape a critical view of the world. She knows how to balance perfectly the mystery with the sensibility, something very difficult to find in the publishing scenario today. For this reason, she deserves that we find a space for this different and addictive voice. Happy to be able to share a new adventure with her, and that I hope you will enjoy and recommend so that we can continue growing in the publishing world, which is not easy, but at least it has this positive ingredient of doing what you love, and Paz does what she’s passionate about, and this can be seen in each of her works.

This weekend we celebrate the Mother’s Day and we should all benefit from the key dates. Now, I’ve been writing this blog for so long and I do my best to avoid being repetitive with the speeches and the books, but this time I can’t help it, mainly for two reasons.

The first because the ultimate book for this day cannot be other than “Una madre” (a mother) by Alejandro Palomas, that has been just published in Colombia, Chile and Argentina, an audience where I believe the book will find a safe prominent place. And secondly, because I can’t stop talking well about a mother like mine. A person like my mother, with her strength, has been an example to me and many of the things I am are thanks to her. A strong person, hardworking, and who has always known what to do and how to do it. With me, she has also been affectionate but she has also known how to tell me the truths, sometimes painful, and with her full support, because she was there for the good and the bad, and for this reason I think I can be here today writing this blog.

In the same way I’m here with my own agency, which will be 20 years old very soon, the path of which has not been easy at all because it is a very difficult job, but thanks to her I can say that I’m still here and I hope to continue with desire and passion. Now, it is my turn to look ahead but now my mother has to retire from work, get off this train, and enjoy the quiet and slow life, and even though she keeps coming every once in a while, because she is in love with her work, my mother knows that she must leave the baton to those who are coming who, fortunately, are my brothers, and together we will continue to build this small house of dreams. We will now enjoy a mother outside the office, that will also be very healthy, with time to devote to whatever she wants besides her grandchildren, another of her passions, and us, because she has never abandoned us, but from the balcony of life. Work will always be one of the important parts of her life but now it will be secondary, and I’m sure her smile will shine brighter. We will be able to enjoy only the familiar moments, the everyday, the small things, which in the end are the biggest.

Like Amalia, that in Alejandro’s book is an example of happy person but very concerned for her children, even if it doesn’t look like it. She helps them from this balcony of life, where I believe that the mothers know how to see things from a different perspective and are capable of saying those things that we don’t dare to say, or that perhaps we still can’t say. Because mothers are always unique, special and essential, because each of us know that her mother is the best and we are all right about that. Fer, Amalia’s son, knows it, and that’s why the novel is so special, because it’s an ode to mothers, with their flaws and virtues, their strong and weak points. Palomas has captured this with words, which is a very difficult thing to do, because the deep feelings are complicated to put on paper, like it’s happening to my right now, but he made it. And moreover, Palmoas has found the way to make readers cry and laugh at the same time, and they close the book with a good taste in their mouth and thinking I want more. And they got it, because as many of you know, the world of Alejandro Palomas is big, and he links one book to another, even you can read them separately. Here you have a link with the work you can enjoy of this author, who is also special and unique. A big writer, a big novel… And the mothers, great women that are indispensable, and to me, one of the most important pillar of my life.

This week I still have a hangover from Sant Jordi, the Book Day in Catalonia. A special, magical day both for those who work in the publishing field and for the readers, who always seem to be hidden, but that day they uncover themselves and take the streets to buy that book they want for themselves or that they want to give away. It is incredible to experience it from the inside, next to the authors, the publishers, and the agents that we want everything to be perfect. And it’s usually a perfect day.

This year we have had several authors signing books, and although we have not had the number 1, Maria Barbal with “A L’AMIC ESCOCÈS” (To my Scottish friend) has been the fifth best-selling novel, after the international success of PEDRA DE TARTERA (Stone in a landslide), already a classic and translated into 15 languages. Maria Barbal is a sure bet, as have other writers such as Mercè Rodoreda, Montserrat Roig or Jaume Cabré.

Also Raül Romeva with his book “ESPERANÇA I LLIBERTAT” (Hope and Freedom) has been the fourth best seller in non-fiction, because Raül only tries to capture his vision from prison about the conflict between Catalonia and Spain, without trying to convince anyone of anything. He only wishes to explain the truth and try to dialogue, because communication is what has failed since the beginning. So more than a political book, it is a human book that deserves this fourth place without any doubt.

And here I wish to share our video for Sant Jordi with all the books we recommended, and that if they were not the most chosen, there are many more occasions to buy or give them away. Because life accompanied by books is much more enjoyable, happier, more intense. Reading is life and makes you free.

It has always fascinated me how from a story that is apparently normal, the writers can create a total new world full of adventures. I firmly believe it is a gift, because if these books are addressed to the most demanding readers, the children, the writers must be one hundred percent careful. They won’t go easy on them. That’s why it’s a challenge for any author who attempts to write for an age group he doesn’t usually address to, as David Lozano has done with EL LADRÓN DE MINUTOS (the thief of minutes), which has already printed its 5th edition and has a total of 5 translations, and now with a new character, Mayra Brócoli, which I think it’s so lovely.

She’s smart, curious and she’s always making up stories to surprise her colleagues. A strange illness forces her to stay in the hospital, but soon she will find out, together with their friends of the Bacon Squad, that this Universe of corridors, rooms and basements hides an incredible secret. Mayra is a character I would have loved to read when I was younger in order to identify myself with that smiling girl, full of ideas; a girl who dares to do everything despite the fact that the circumstances are not the best. Being a child has many positive things, and one of them is that you can see the world without prejudices. That’s why things always seem so clear, as it happens with Marya: a little rebellious, with a strong character, full of crazy ideas so that life can always be fun.

Edebé has done a wonderful job again and David is not going to leave us with only one Mayra story, so kids from 8+ years old, don’t hesitate to order this book! I’m sure you will love it, and the parents will love it more, because they’ll enjoy the reading and they will learn that the adventure of their life can happen at any time.

There are little things that happen to you and you don’t know why but they remain in your memory forever: a memory stored in your heart, rather than in your mind. The melted chocolate that my grandmother used to prepare Sunday mornings for my grandfather, and also for us if we had spent the night there, is a ritual I can’t forget: how she cut the chocolate in the kitchen, that black and intense chocolate bar. Then, she melted it in a red pot until the chocolate was thick enough and, with a big smile, she served the chocolate with some bread and butter. This was the perfect breakfast, and sometimes I feel the need to do it again so I can smell the Sundays in my grandparent’s home sharing bread and chocolate with love.

The kitchen, the chocolate, the bakery… It is a whole new world, and this week, I’d like to talk about a novel that has all the ingredients to become a best-seller.

El Obrador de los prodigios (the miracles’ workshop) tells the creation and evolution of the popular Escribà patisserie. At the same time, we will meet Alba, who will be the exceptional witness of a period of changes and consolidation. Two stories that merge in the wonderful world of the pastry making.

The story begins with Mateu Serra, a boy from Lleida who decides to leave his village to go to Barcelona, where he will start working in a bakery. Later, Mateu Serra, who had an unusual initiative and courage, founded his own bakery, which would be the beginning of the famous Escribà pastry shop: during the Universal Exhibition in Barcelona, Mateu hired the first of their generation, Antonio, who entered the bakery as a pastry chef. Years later, when Serra retired and the bakery had already gained fame thanks to the cakes of Antonio Escribà, he and his wife Josefina Serra took the relief and named the new property Escribà.

On the other hand, we are in 1947. Our protagonist Alba has always dreamed of having her own pastry shop, partly thanks to the influence of her mother and grandmother. She works as a cook at the Vidal company but the customers already appreciate her magnificent gift for the pastry making. There are several times when Alba, by chance, will come across the name Escribà: she has to work there.

This novel has a main plot, the history of the Escribà patisserie, which will take us through different periods: from the first change when Mateu Serra leaves his legacy to the first of the Escribà, the crisis during the Civil War and a magnificent later period of perfection of techniques.

But the novel also has time for love and family issues, which gives added value to the story, as well as the historical context that is vital for the resolution of the story: a Civil War that separates families or a old-fashioned mentality that will become an obstacle for Alba and her goal of being a pastry cook for the mere fact of being a woman. Our protagonist, then, will have to navigate against all these prejudices to achieve her dream.

The popular pastry shop has a great history that thanks to the collaboration of Christian Escribà and Silvia Tarrago, we will be able to devour it and to know more about the patisserie. One of those novels that you enjoy from beginning to end and you feel satisfied, just like when you finish tasting that chocolate I was telling you about. Isn’t this the perfect book to give as a present on Saint George’s Day?