
Dies de frontera
Proa, febrero 2014
Awards
-SANT JORDI 2013 PRIZE
Press
“Lightness of touch, savoir faire, using the tricks of the TV sitcom trade with the hallucinatory setting of La Jonquera as its backdrop.” Julià Gillamon, La Vanguardia
“Vicenç Pagès seems to be the new name to watch on the Catalan literary scene.” Carles Geli, El País
“Pagès has opened my generation’s eyes to a world of possibilities more at home in the United Kingdom and the States than on these shores.” Borja Bagunyà, El País
“One of the leading lights of contemporary Catalan letters.” Jordi Marrugat, El País
«A novel that draws the reader in. Not because of the mechanisms of the plot, but rather the way it is written. A daring stylistic and formal gambit. An unabashed look at today’s world ripped straight from the headlines.» Màrius Serra
"The clipped prose style moves the plot along at a brisk pace, while the narrator’s voice makes for a striking, delightful contrast. (…) The story is told with considerable panache.” Julià Guillamon, La Vanguardia
“A skilled craftsman and builder of worlds, blessed with a lightness of touch.” Joan Ventura, El Punt Avui
“With Dies de frontera, he has once again written a better (and more maddening) novel than his previous one.” Esteve Miralles, Núvol
“One of the leading proponents of post-modern fiction.” Jordi Marrugat, Ara
Synopsis
(Frontier Days) Dies de frontera is a novel about the partners we choose, the parents we get and the children we bring into the world (or choose not to). It is, in short, a snapshot of the youth of today, doomed to a lifelong insecurity (not only socially and professionally) that blocks their path to the maturity and stability that comes with settling down and raising a family.
Pau and Teresa, the protagonists of our story, are a common-law couple content to drift blithely along until what he calls “the lapse” occurs, bringing in its wake an emotional meltdown, a change of home and a journey to the borderlands between Spain and France. Like so many others of their ilk, Pau and Teresa are a young couple on the move, but their final destination remains a mystery. Transition is, after all, a transitional state of affairs.
The narrator eschews melodrama in his telling of the protagonists’ tale and, along the way, takes stock of the past few decades, with the linguistic flair and comic touch that are the hallmarks of Vicenç Pagès Jordà.
Told over the course of more than a hundred chapters, many of which are extremely brief, the novel is a constantly shifting image that will seduce, move and entertain readers in equal measure, while enthralling with its ability to depict the world in which we live.
** ENGLISH SAMPLE TRANSLATION AVAILABLE **
MB Authors
- Pepa AGUAR
- Pablo ARANDA
- Juan Luis ARSUAGA
- Manuel ASTUR
- Flavita BANANA
- Joan BARRIL
- Nuria BARRIOS
- María BASTARÓS
- Felipe BENÍTEZ REYES
- Joan-Daniel BEZSONOFF
- BLACKIE BOOKS
- Joana BONET
- Juan BONILLA
- Emilio BUESO
- Bibiana CANDIA
- Leonardo CANO
- Pablo CARBONELL
- Martín CASARIEGO
- Nicolás CASARIEGO
- Paula CIFUENTES
- Juan CUADRA
- Mario CUENCA SANDOVAL
- Malén DENÍS
- Elizabeth DUVAL
- Maria ESCALAS
- Cristina FALLARÁS
- Eneko FERNÁNDEZ
- Laura FERRERO
- Josep Maria FONALLERAS
- Albert FORNS CANAL
- Miguel GALLARDO
- Olivia GALLO
- Xenia GARCÍA
- Ignacio GARCÍA-VALIÑO
- José A. GARRIGA VELA
- David B. GIL
- Santi GIMÉNEZ
- Marcos GIRALT TORRENTE
- Enric GONZÁLEZ
- Ismael GRASA
- Luci GUTIÉRREZ
- Javier GUTIÉRREZ
- Najat El HACHMI
- Alicia KOPF
- Use LAHOZ
- Lucía LIJTMAER
- Shaina Joy MACHLUS
- Adrià MARQUÈS
- Ignacio MARTÍNEZ DE PISóN
- Ramon MAS
- Ana MERINO
- Luna MIGUEL
- Amarna MILLER
- Miquel OBIOLS
- Bruno ORO
- Miqui OTERO
- Anna PACHECO
- Vicenç PAGÈS JORDÀ
- Enric PARDO
- Concepción PEREA
- Juan Manuel DE PRADA
- Jordi PUNTÍ
- Llucia RAMIS
- Antonio J. RODRÍGUEZ
- Félix ROMEO
- Carmen ROMERO
- Xavier RUBERT DE VENTÓS
- Gemma RUIZ
- Juanjo SÁEZ
- Gabriel SALVADÓ
- Màrius SERRA
- Rubén SERRANO
- Ramon SOLSONA
- José Miguel TOMASENA
- David TRUEBA
- Juan VICO
- Enrique VILA-MATAS
- Rosario VILLAJOS
- Rolando VILLAZÓN
- Pedro ZARRALUKI