Stone in a Landslide and a book giveaway

I probably would not have read this book had I not won it and I probably would not have won it had I not read Rachel’s review of it.

Now it is your turn.

Rachel’s thoughtful essay about  Stone in a Landslide brought a book I might not have ever known about to my attention and the intriguing “conversation” that followed by way of the comments was insightful and informative about book translations. This is what blogging can do when the right chord is struck, a provocative question raised, and a respectful and inquisitive dialogue is opened up. I will leave you to read Rachel’s review and the comments that followed by leading you here.

Stone in a Landslide by Maria Barbal is a beautifully executed story of the life of Conxa, who is sent to live with her childless aunt and uncle at the age of 13. It is Conxa’s story; a life of hard work, life in the Pyrenees through the first half of the 20th century, love and loss, the Spanish Civil war, and of the passage of time and a way of life. It is so simply told in Conxa’s voice and makes it such a beautiful story that spans some 80 years, even though the book istself is only 126 pages. It opens simply.

Anyone could see that there were a lot of us at home. I was the fifth of six children – Mother used to say I was there because God wanted me to be there and you have to take what He sends you.

Reading the book made me wonder about the story told in its original Catalan. How lovely the words must flow in the book’s native language and how lyrical I think the original must be. I found myself wondering about the Catalan region, the Pyrenees, the Spanish Civil War and how little I know about this place and this time in history. I thought about Conxa and her life, simple and punctuated with hard work and few choices, especially for a woman of her place and time. I thought about her spirit and about a life in which we are not always given choices and about how what we do with what we are dealt defines us sometimes more than what happens to us. I thought about Conxa and about the author, Maria Barbal, about whom I know only what the book’s jacket tells me and I thought about how I would like to learn more about her. I also thought about book translations and just now, as I was preparing to write, I noticed that the translators are acknowledged in the book flap. Have I just not noticed this before – or is it that I haven’t read all that many books that have been translated by others?

I learned much about a simple life and about a region unfamiliar to me when I read Stone in a Landslide and I want you to have a chance to do the same. From the moment I opened the book’s cover and read the first lines I knew Stone in a Landslide was not mine to keep but, instead, a book to pass forward, to share and let someone else experience. To enter, put  your name, first name or tag name is fine, into the comment section and I will put your name into the “hat” . I’ll have antler man draw a winner and I will let you know where the book is going next. Deadline is Friday, August 20, 11:59 pm. I’ll let you know the winner shortly thereafter. I will mail the book to whoever wins, wherever that may live. Until then, I will leave you with the last line of the book, which doesn’t give away the plot.

Barcelona, for me, is something very beautiful. It is the last step before the cemetery. Conxa