The Book of Barcelona

About

A slighted wife escapes her wealthy family for the evening and stumbles into the city’s red-light district…

The head of security at Barcelona’s container port searches for a figure that only he has seen sneak in…

An elderly woman brings home a machine that will turn her body into atoms, so she can leave behind a city that is no longer recognisable…

Historically, Barcelona is a city of resistance and independence; a focal point for Catalan identity, as well as the capital of Spanish republicanism. Nestled between the Mediterranean coast and mountains, this burgeoning city has also been home to some of the greatest names in modern art and architecture, and attracts visitors and migrants from all over the world.

As a result, the city is a melting-pot of cultures, and the stories gathered here offer a miscellany of form and genre, fittingly reminiscent of one of Gaudi’s mosaics. From the boy-giant outgrowing his cramped flat on the city’s outskirts, to the love affair that begins in a launderette, we meet characters who are reclaiming the independence of their city by challenging common misconceptions and telling its myriad truths.

Translations by: Jennifer Arnold,  Laura McGloughlin, Helena Buffery, Peter Bush, Mary Ann Newman, Annie McDermott, Ruth Clarke, Martha Tennent, Mara Faye Lethem, and Julia Sanches.

Read Atoms Like Snowflakes from The Book of Barcelona, part of Comma Press' Reading the City series.

Press

"The Book of Barcelona is a stylish slideshow of regrets, desires, and fleeting connections: blink and any certainty is gone." – Lunate 

"Comma Press never let me down with these collections and it was wonderful to dive into another new city and experience it in such a unique way." – thewordslikedust

Read 'Atoms Like Snowflakes' by Carlota Gurt, translated by Mary Ann Newman, for free at Bookanista.