Literature: the 5 favorite books of the week by journalist and writer Cécile Pivot
Writer, journalist, feminist, passionate about the politics of her country from a very young age, the Catalan Montserrat Roig (1946-1991) wrote a plural work. Published in 1977 in Spain, Le Temps des Cerises finally appeared in France. We find there all the soul of Spain and more particularly that of Catalonia, rebellious and intense. Natàlia returned to Barcelona in 1974, after twelve years spent in Paris and London, during which she almost cut all ties with her family. She did not even return for her mother’s funeral, Judit, with her “emerald and sad eyes”, had no contact with her father. She left her country angry with her people, angry and afraid.
Why did she come home? She is unable to answer this question. What she knows is what she fled, the lack of freedom, a dark and icy time – Franco then held the country with an iron fist – and a family struck by misfortune. Abroad, she says, she discovered the freedom of the senses and that everything can have nuances. On his return, the city changed, the dictatorship loosened its grip (Franco died in 1975), tongues were loosened, women began to make themselves heard. Who is the main character in this novel? Natàlia or the city of Barcelona? Probably both. The writing of Montserrat Roig, incisive and demanding, as well (…)
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