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Jeanette (Ms. Feisty)'s Reviews > Nada
Nada
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by
Carmen Laforet wrote with a quiet beauty. Not really poetic, just an understated elegance. Even the more dramatic or violent scenes have a quieter feeling than you'd expect. Quite impressive for a woman who was in her early twenties when she wrote this book.
The story is said to be somewhat autobiographical. Andrea, aged eighteen, goes to live with her grandmother, aunts, and uncles in Barcelona so she can attend the university. The family lives in greatly reduced circumstances after the Spanish Civil War and the death of the family patriarch. In his intro, Mario Vargas Llosa calls this story a "detailed autopsy of a girl imprisoned in a hungry, half-crazed family on Calle de Aribau." That pretty much sums up the story, although I'd say some of the family members have progressed beyond half-crazed to full-blown madness.
There are secrets revealed and high drama closer to the end of the book, but mostly it is about Andrea's attempts to escape from the loony bin she's living in by walking the streets of Barcelona and spending time with her friends from the university.
This edition is a new translation by Edith Grossman. I am really falling in love with her translation skills. Some translations have a stilted feeling, but Grossman's just flow so smoothly and beautifully.
The story is said to be somewhat autobiographical. Andrea, aged eighteen, goes to live with her grandmother, aunts, and uncles in Barcelona so she can attend the university. The family lives in greatly reduced circumstances after the Spanish Civil War and the death of the family patriarch. In his intro, Mario Vargas Llosa calls this story a "detailed autopsy of a girl imprisoned in a hungry, half-crazed family on Calle de Aribau." That pretty much sums up the story, although I'd say some of the family members have progressed beyond half-crazed to full-blown madness.
There are secrets revealed and high drama closer to the end of the book, but mostly it is about Andrea's attempts to escape from the loony bin she's living in by walking the streets of Barcelona and spending time with her friends from the university.
This edition is a new translation by Edith Grossman. I am really falling in love with her translation skills. Some translations have a stilted feeling, but Grossman's just flow so smoothly and beautifully.
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Reading Progress
February 28, 2009
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Started Reading
March 5, 2009
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Julie
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rated it 4 stars
Mar 07, 2009 06:27PM
I'm reading a novel set during the Spanish Civil War; it's so hard for me to reconcile the modern Spain I have visited- so full of life and passion and vitality- with soul-deadening, claustrophobic era of Franco. I must add this one to my TBR shelf- thanks for the review, Jeanette!
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Claustrophobic is right. And such hunger! Nada is a perfect title for the book. I think you'll like this one even more than I, since you've been to Spain and know more about the history than I do. I'm planning to get more informed on that, though.:)
I read it in Spanish, simply a splendid book.
I've been have been hearing a lot about the skills of translators, on and off Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ recently. How nice to hear you praise this one with such enthusiasm. Translating fiction and poetry must be such a challenging task. It's good to see someone get a pat on the back.
Laura wrote: "I read it in Spanish, simply a splendid book."Is Spanish your first language, Laura? I would love to read some of these books in their original form, but alas, English is the only language in which I'm fluent.
Caroline wrote: "I've been have been hearing a lot about the skills of translators, on and off Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ recently. How nice to hear you praise this one with such enthusiasm. Translating fiction and poetry must ..."The translator can literally make or break the book. Truly a challenging task, and one I'm ever so grateful for when it's done well.
Jeanette wrote: "Laura wrote: "I read it in Spanish, simply a splendid book."Is Spanish your first language, Laura? I would love to read some of these books in their original form, but alas, English is the only l..."
No, Portuguese is my first language. But since both languages are Latin's, I manage to read in Spanish and in Italian quite well, even if Italian is sometimes tough to understand some particular words.
Thanks, J. This will be my next read if I can get it library-side.
Laura, I'm smacking my forehead now, because I knew that about Brazil. Portuguese, not Spanish. I know some Spanish, and I did find a lot of similarities when I tried to teach myself Italian a few years ago.
Rachel wrote: "Thanks, J. This will be my next read if I can get it library-side."Hope you love it, Rach!
Jeanette wrote: "Laura, I'm smacking my forehead now, because I knew that about Brazil. Portuguese, not Spanish. I know some Spanish, and I did find a lot of similarities when I tried to teach myself Italian a few ..."Besides, I do hate bad translations that's why I try to read books in their original language whenever this is possible for me of course.
Thank you Jeanette for the great review... looking forward to reading it in spanish! :)
