I decided to have a look in the library and try to get one in Catalan
I didn’t know any names so I asked the women who work there and who are usually very friendly.
” Can you help me? Who are the most famous Catalan crime writers? The ones everyone wants to read and who have been translated into English?’
The answer – blank looks, shrugged shoulders, ‘No se’
Do you think that is strange? Perhaps crime fiction is more a British fascination? I could name you at least 10 crime writers in English while they couldn’t come up with one.
No problem. I love libraries and feel totally at home when I’m there. I started to go along the shelves looking at every book – except the ones on the bottom shelf which I am too lazy to bend down to!
But it’s not the same as looking in a library in the UK
1. Some books are in Catalan. Some are in Castellano. Some are translations from other languages.
2. There are helpful pictures on the spines so you can concentrate on the genre you want – I looked only at the guns and the Sherlock Holmes silhouettes
3. Once you find the genre, you look at the authors name – PD James – no. Ian Rankin – no. Francisco García Pavon – no because it sounds Spanish. Javier Calvo – that sounds promising and yes he is from Barcelona but no – it’s written in castellano! Some Catalan authors write in Spanish to reach a wider audience. But more and more the original version is in Catalan. Teresa Solana – aha! She sounds interesting.
4. Now I get to the part where I actually pull a book out of the stack. Ignoring large fat ones, I look at the first sentences and decide if it will be possible to get the gist without using a dictionary.
5. Finally I decided on this one – the author is from Menorca and that is where the action happens.
Fifteen minutes before the library closes for lunch they begin to pipe music in through speakers on every floor. The first time this happened I thought someone had forgotten to turn off their mobile phone and was surprised that noone started to Shush!!!
You get some exercise too, cause unlike in English, the names on the spines are not all oriented the same way, so you have to flip your head back and forth to read the titles! No more stiff necks, or at least they are stiff for a different reason.
That is so true! I knew there was something strange about it. I kept flipping back and forth and wondering why I never had this dizzy sensation before in a library?
Did someone make a decision in the UK to put them all in one direction?
K x
Is Castellano Spanish? I am soooo confused now. How different is Catalan from Spanish? And what percentage of Spain is more Catalan than Spanish? My ignorance is showing but all of a sudden my curiosity is peaked. I, too, love libraries but I would be so frustrated if I couldn’t even read the titles.
Hi Bodhi
I have only just got a grip of any of this so don’t worry about ignorance! Here is my very basic understanding of some things.
Spain has been a democracy only since 1975 with the death of the dictator Franco. It is made up of 17 autonomous communities, one of which is Catalunya. Catalunya was a country in its own right once upon a time and now has to put up with being a part of a bigger nation which doesn’t honour it’s history and culture. Catalunya is also a wealthy region but large taxes take away a lot of dosh and reinvest it in other poorer parts of Spain. This makes people feel used and fleeced. In Spain there are four official languages – Spanish (or castellano) Catalan, Galician and Basque. Spanish is spoken all over the country, the other languages are spoken regionally but the central government tends to belittle their importance. Catalan is spoken by around 10 million people. Because Spanish(castellano) has been politically dominant most Catalans are bilingual but Spanish people are not. Since democracy there have been more laws put in place to protect and strengthen the language use. Catalunya also has a long independent history and a vital cultural life that is totally different from the bull fighting and flamenco of Spain. People here want to be seen as who they are and to have their nationhood acknowledged. It’s complicated but also fascinating! I put this here for you but also so anyone else interested can see it. You asked great questions! love Kate x
http://www.gencat.cat/catalunya/eng/coneixer-historia.htm
Interesting that you are writing about books. It reminded me that my first introduction to Catalunya was through a mystery I read. It was about an artist that was Catalan although lived in the US. Part of it was set in Catalunya and part in the US, a murder mystery I think. It was quite a long time ago but I remember I really enjoyed it.
Thank you for this wonderful long comment on the history, Kate. I knew very little about this.