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This Is Not America: Stories
From the acclaimed, prize-winning Catalonian author of the novel Lost Luggage, a collection of nine masterful short stories about adulthood, heartbreak, and outsiders in search of their place in the world.
As one of Catalonia’s most acclaimed literary talents, Jordi Puntí’s writing is “full of invention and consistently gripping” (The Times Literary Supplement). Now, he returns to his American audience with this breathtaking short story collection. Sharing the title of the David Bowie song, it travels from Spain to America and back, showing the differences between the two places.
A man recalls a past love as he strolls through the lonely streets of Barcelona. A hitchhiker on the outskirts of the city of Vic carries his secrets in a briefcase. In northern Catalonia, a villager receives letters from a long-estranged brother and grapples with how to respond. Then there’s the man who wants to surprise his wife with a trip to Paris, only to swap it for a solitary cruise.
Showcasing “the author’s vivid imagination” (Kirkus Reviews), the stories in This Is Not America are effortless evocations of the strangeness of everyday life and the universal search for love and belonging.
As one of Catalonia’s most acclaimed literary talents, Jordi Puntí’s writing is “full of invention and consistently gripping” (The Times Literary Supplement). Now, he returns to his American audience with this breathtaking short story collection. Sharing the title of the David Bowie song, it travels from Spain to America and back, showing the differences between the two places.
A man recalls a past love as he strolls through the lonely streets of Barcelona. A hitchhiker on the outskirts of the city of Vic carries his secrets in a briefcase. In northern Catalonia, a villager receives letters from a long-estranged brother and grapples with how to respond. Then there’s the man who wants to surprise his wife with a trip to Paris, only to swap it for a solitary cruise.
Showcasing “the author’s vivid imagination” (Kirkus Reviews), the stories in This Is Not America are effortless evocations of the strangeness of everyday life and the universal search for love and belonging.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2017
6 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
About the author
Jordi Puntí
34 books25 followersJordi Puntí is a writer, translator (Paul Auster, Amélie Nothomb and Daniel Pennac, among others), and a regular contributor to the Spanish and Catalan press. He is currently the editor of the literary supplement, Quadern, published by the newspaper El País.
Puntí is considered one of the most promising new voices of contemporary Catalan literature. In 1998 he published his first book of short stories, Pell d’armadillo (Proa, 1998) that won the Serra d’Or Critics’ Prize.
Puntí is considered one of the most promising new voices of contemporary Catalan literature. In 1998 he published his first book of short stories, Pell d’armadillo (Proa, 1998) that won the Serra d’Or Critics’ Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 6, 2019
This Is Not America is a collection of nine short stories mostly taking place in Barcelona, but also with Catalans traveling abroad. The first and last stories are the strangest. In the first, “Vertical”, a man is waking the ‘I’ in Mai, memorializing his late wife by walking her name on the streets of Barcelona. His description of grief is vivid and authentic, though the story meanders through its own streets. Frankly, I nearly quit reading during the first story, but the rest were far more to my taste.
“Kidney” is a story of estranged brothers and a weak story that seems more like a long joke told late into the night on a drunken bender. “Consolation Prize” is a strange story of a man falling into infatuation with a girl because he learns she shares an admiration for a band he likes. To me he seemed a bit stalkerish and unpleasant, but I think Puntí’s stories are far more expressive of the male worldview. You really see that in “My Best Friend’s Mother” which has a middle-age man trying to replay an adolescent wish fulfillment fantasy.
I think “Seven Days on the Loveboat” is my favorite, a man had planned a trip to Paris with his wife but they separated right before their anniversary, so he trades his trip in for a Mediterranean cruise on one of the hookup type cruise ships where things don’t go as planned.
This Is Not America is strange collection of stories. Some of them I really liked and others were just strange and a couple I just did not like. I thought the final story was too cute by half, going all meta by writing about a writer writing a short story on commission who goes to a party where Jordi Puntí happens to be a guest. On the other hand, except for “Kidney” every story seemed truly new, unlike anything I have read before. That excites me, so on the whole, it’s a good anthology with a mix of hits and misses.
I received an e-galley ofThis Is Not America from the publisher through NetGalley
This Is Not America at Atria Books | Simon & Schuster
Jordi Puntí on Twitter
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
“Kidney” is a story of estranged brothers and a weak story that seems more like a long joke told late into the night on a drunken bender. “Consolation Prize” is a strange story of a man falling into infatuation with a girl because he learns she shares an admiration for a band he likes. To me he seemed a bit stalkerish and unpleasant, but I think Puntí’s stories are far more expressive of the male worldview. You really see that in “My Best Friend’s Mother” which has a middle-age man trying to replay an adolescent wish fulfillment fantasy.
I think “Seven Days on the Loveboat” is my favorite, a man had planned a trip to Paris with his wife but they separated right before their anniversary, so he trades his trip in for a Mediterranean cruise on one of the hookup type cruise ships where things don’t go as planned.
This Is Not America is strange collection of stories. Some of them I really liked and others were just strange and a couple I just did not like. I thought the final story was too cute by half, going all meta by writing about a writer writing a short story on commission who goes to a party where Jordi Puntí happens to be a guest. On the other hand, except for “Kidney” every story seemed truly new, unlike anything I have read before. That excites me, so on the whole, it’s a good anthology with a mix of hits and misses.
I received an e-galley ofThis Is Not America from the publisher through NetGalley
This Is Not America at Atria Books | Simon & Schuster
Jordi Puntí on Twitter
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
May 19, 2021
We do not need any more books about depressed and horny middle-aged men, we have more than enough already. Please stop. Thank you.
December 18, 2022
3.5 stars. A nice collection of short stories, 2/3 of them quite enjoyable.
May 21, 2024
“Puntí is clever without ever being saccharine, literary in choice of phrase without ever being obtuse—always a joy to read.”
The reader may, at first, be puzzled by the title as it links so firmly to the David Bowie song of the same name. Frankly, the book can be interpreted in the same musical vein and, of course (because Puntí is that brilliant), without. There is no doubt that seen from an ex-America perspective, there is deep humor here; humor that may slip by a more jaundiced American reader.
Indeed, there were times when the stories, for example Kidney, seemed firmly placed in the realm of sarcasm or depression. There, a brother’s lost love, or lack of deep affection, is weighed against his brother’s need, urgency as time fast approaches, for the swap of a kidney. Against this backdrop, Puntí explores memory (true and false in youth), affection, old cudgels, and in the end, the vicious pleasure the protagonist has in settling scores.
Many of the stories carry the same theme of past encroaching on the present, coloring the future. Puntí is clever without ever being saccharine, literary in choice of phrase without ever being obtuse—always a joy to read.
As is often the case with translations, the cadence can get destroyed. Seeing Puntí’s reputation for cadence (tested by public readings for which his work is known to play well), this translation was likely to fall short. It does not. The cadence is fluid, intelligent, words carefully placed, and a joy to read aloud. Cadence here is critical for the flow of the words and impact on the psyche of the reader—absorbing the deeper message meant to be simple but impactful.
The final “Kidney” passage of the protagonist’s niece, come to call, carries impact on many levels, reigniting the themes in the previous pages, setting up a crescendo conclusion: “She believed she was the only family tie between the two of them and, feeling this strongly, thought she had to try. Her father’s conditions was worsening. It was no joke. He really needed a kidney, so please forget about his arrogance. . . . When the girl went quiet, he finally gave her the answer he’d been savoring all along.” Read aloud it works in a different way than when read silently. Good literature plays significantly better when read aloud.
Here then is a work on the human condition, the falsehoods we tell ourselves, the self-justifications played out at others’ or our own expense. In the end none of the reasons matter as to why, rather Puntí revels in the aftermath, the cause less important than the effect. In this he strives into Camus’ arena, mirror images of The Stranger come to the reader’s mind. Who is to blame, and does it really matter why if the effect takes over from the cause?
Many of the stories seem to be wandering away from a course the reader is desperate to follow. Emotional attachments get waylaid, or seem to, and need to be brought back on target. Puntí does this with a swift brush stroke much like a frantic painter, exhibiting a remorseless whip into position of the reader’s focus.
Or perhaps it is his fascination with all things musical that allows a conductor’s stringent control to the enjoyment of his tales. In “Seven Days on the Love Boat,” a life is reduced to a momentary assessment, “Here,’ he said. ‘I live here. On the ship.’” This sets the scene for all that follows as the protagonist yearns for that which is fleeting, never possibly permanent. Written in the first person, this story has the hallmark of autobiography without ever being dishonest—it was too sad and revelatory for that.
The last story, “Patience,” seeks to expose interplay between many players, especially the author (in name and person) but in the end reduces itself to human narrowness of purpose. Using the metaphor of hypnotism (and practice) to unlock real secrets, the players finds themselves devoid of the necessary release of protectionist layers to probe deeper into who, what, they are.
Motives come into play here too as Felipe clearly wants to discover something inside that could be useful outside. Puntí steps into the breech, against the desires of Felipe’s ego-driven motives, and delivers the book’s final line, reflecting on time as a construct for the very book (a compilation of years of previously published works), “When he got to the bottom, he didn’t know whether three minutes, three days, or three years had gone by.” Espousing the life, practice, and experience of every author.
The reader may, at first, be puzzled by the title as it links so firmly to the David Bowie song of the same name. Frankly, the book can be interpreted in the same musical vein and, of course (because Puntí is that brilliant), without. There is no doubt that seen from an ex-America perspective, there is deep humor here; humor that may slip by a more jaundiced American reader.
Indeed, there were times when the stories, for example Kidney, seemed firmly placed in the realm of sarcasm or depression. There, a brother’s lost love, or lack of deep affection, is weighed against his brother’s need, urgency as time fast approaches, for the swap of a kidney. Against this backdrop, Puntí explores memory (true and false in youth), affection, old cudgels, and in the end, the vicious pleasure the protagonist has in settling scores.
Many of the stories carry the same theme of past encroaching on the present, coloring the future. Puntí is clever without ever being saccharine, literary in choice of phrase without ever being obtuse—always a joy to read.
As is often the case with translations, the cadence can get destroyed. Seeing Puntí’s reputation for cadence (tested by public readings for which his work is known to play well), this translation was likely to fall short. It does not. The cadence is fluid, intelligent, words carefully placed, and a joy to read aloud. Cadence here is critical for the flow of the words and impact on the psyche of the reader—absorbing the deeper message meant to be simple but impactful.
The final “Kidney” passage of the protagonist’s niece, come to call, carries impact on many levels, reigniting the themes in the previous pages, setting up a crescendo conclusion: “She believed she was the only family tie between the two of them and, feeling this strongly, thought she had to try. Her father’s conditions was worsening. It was no joke. He really needed a kidney, so please forget about his arrogance. . . . When the girl went quiet, he finally gave her the answer he’d been savoring all along.” Read aloud it works in a different way than when read silently. Good literature plays significantly better when read aloud.
Here then is a work on the human condition, the falsehoods we tell ourselves, the self-justifications played out at others’ or our own expense. In the end none of the reasons matter as to why, rather Puntí revels in the aftermath, the cause less important than the effect. In this he strives into Camus’ arena, mirror images of The Stranger come to the reader’s mind. Who is to blame, and does it really matter why if the effect takes over from the cause?
Many of the stories seem to be wandering away from a course the reader is desperate to follow. Emotional attachments get waylaid, or seem to, and need to be brought back on target. Puntí does this with a swift brush stroke much like a frantic painter, exhibiting a remorseless whip into position of the reader’s focus.
Or perhaps it is his fascination with all things musical that allows a conductor’s stringent control to the enjoyment of his tales. In “Seven Days on the Love Boat,” a life is reduced to a momentary assessment, “Here,’ he said. ‘I live here. On the ship.’” This sets the scene for all that follows as the protagonist yearns for that which is fleeting, never possibly permanent. Written in the first person, this story has the hallmark of autobiography without ever being dishonest—it was too sad and revelatory for that.
The last story, “Patience,” seeks to expose interplay between many players, especially the author (in name and person) but in the end reduces itself to human narrowness of purpose. Using the metaphor of hypnotism (and practice) to unlock real secrets, the players finds themselves devoid of the necessary release of protectionist layers to probe deeper into who, what, they are.
Motives come into play here too as Felipe clearly wants to discover something inside that could be useful outside. Puntí steps into the breech, against the desires of Felipe’s ego-driven motives, and delivers the book’s final line, reflecting on time as a construct for the very book (a compilation of years of previously published works), “When he got to the bottom, he didn’t know whether three minutes, three days, or three years had gone by.” Espousing the life, practice, and experience of every author.
March 19, 2022
Exceedingly middling short stories. Pretty much exactly the sort of thing one might imagine if someone told you it was "a book of short stories by a contemporary author." Vignettes, sometimes with an ironic twist, sometimes just a character sketch, sometimes with a little bit of dramatic ambiguity. The kind of stories you'd read in a magazine in a dentist's waiting room, and be content with having read, but then forget by the time you got home.
Despite the title (referring to the David Bowe/Pat Metheny Group song), America and music are rarely more than background presences, each only being thematically important in one or two stories (out of nine). The stories were written (and some rewritten) across about 16 years, all of them commissioned for various projects- anthologies, fundraisers, serialization.
The main connecting thread running through these stories is that Punti seems to really like writing about protagonists very much like himself. All his narrator-protagonists are Catalan men of about the same age as Punti. They're all diffident, ruminative, and possessed of a very European middle-aged jaded horniness; I can't of course say whether these things are true of Punti himself, but they're certainly true of his characters. Only one story (Matter) features detours into the perspectives of other characters (a vagrant and the primary guy's girlfriend). I guess this isn't necessarily ruinous; probably most writers write about themselves to various extents, consciously or not. But it makes for a bunch of samey, undistinguished stories when read in sequence.
Despite the title (referring to the David Bowe/Pat Metheny Group song), America and music are rarely more than background presences, each only being thematically important in one or two stories (out of nine). The stories were written (and some rewritten) across about 16 years, all of them commissioned for various projects- anthologies, fundraisers, serialization.
The main connecting thread running through these stories is that Punti seems to really like writing about protagonists very much like himself. All his narrator-protagonists are Catalan men of about the same age as Punti. They're all diffident, ruminative, and possessed of a very European middle-aged jaded horniness; I can't of course say whether these things are true of Punti himself, but they're certainly true of his characters. Only one story (Matter) features detours into the perspectives of other characters (a vagrant and the primary guy's girlfriend). I guess this isn't necessarily ruinous; probably most writers write about themselves to various extents, consciously or not. But it makes for a bunch of samey, undistinguished stories when read in sequence.
June 2, 2020
"Jordi Puntí torna amb la seva narrativa profunda i descriptiva que l’ha convertit en un dels escriptors en català més respectats. Com en obres anteriors, l’autor ens regala un tapís de personatges peculiars, fins i tot estrambòtics, les històries dels quals no deixen indiferent. Són narracions de situacions excepcionals però que el lector sentirà que són gairebé naturals, properes, d’aquelles històries que podrien ser explicades pel noi que jeu a la taula del costat o la senyora que tenim al davant a la cua de la fleca. Perquè mai sabem quin recorregut vital i quina conjuntura emocional s’amaga rere un rostre anònim i un posat tranquil. No ho sabem perquè no hi mostrem interès. Jordi Puntí sí que ho fa. Situant-se de vegades com a narrador en primera persona, d’altres deixant que el protagonista prengui la paraula, ens endinsa en el passat turmentat dels personatges i ens permet seguir la lògica que els mou en una societat on no acaben de trobar el seu lloc. Ens apropa a la desesperació, la soledat i sobretot la desorientació d’uns protagonistes que esdevenen entranyables i pels quals, també gràcies a un fi sentit de l’humor, el lector no podrà evitar una intensa empatia. Com a colofó final, Puntí ens explica una història viscuda, una espècie d’experiment literari que aprima encara més la fina línia entre realitat i ficció que es va desdibuixant al llarg de tota l’obra." Xavier López
August 9, 2021
Com la majoria de reculls de contes, té algunes històries força interessants i d'altres que no ho són gaire. Són contes subtils, a l'estil de Raymond Carver, que moltes vegades suggereixen més del que expliquen, o senzillament volen situar-te a un ambient concret, o transmetre una emoció, aquella cosa que sura en l'aire algunes nits i no saps ben bé com definir. La decadència, potser, o el tedi. Aquest fet m'ha semblat interessant, és un intent de l'escriptor de desprendre's de l'ego i limitar-se a escriure una història decent, en comptes de voler donar-se aires de qui sap què.
Tot i seguir les pautes minimalistes que van establir Quim Monzó i Sergi Pàmies (entre d'altres) a finals dels anys vuitanta, no té —afortunadament— l'acudit final a què està acostumat el lector català per considerar que un conte és interessant, i que es va establir a través del noucentisme, i especialment els relats de Josep Carner, ni aprofundeix tant en el sexe (és a dir, n'evita els detalls explícits). No calen comparacions, però. A més a més, atualment seria absurd escriure un llibre de contes amb un llenguatge poètic, o que tinguessin més informació de l'estrictament necessària.
Destaco els contes "Set dies al vaixell de l'amor" (el millor de tot el recull) i "El miracle dels pans i els peixos". Recomanaria aquest llibre a qui vulgui més del mateix, del que ja coneixem, però des d'un punt de vista menys intens. Són històries de bona qualitat, però que et deixaran amb el mateix estat d'ànim indiferent i desencantat que tenen els personatges. No el recomanaria a qui vulgui alguna cosa que trenqui amb el que ha estat, durant les últimes dècades, el cànon dels contes catalans.
Recomano veure les entrevistes de l'autor: és simpàtic i sap expressar-se molt bé.
Tot i seguir les pautes minimalistes que van establir Quim Monzó i Sergi Pàmies (entre d'altres) a finals dels anys vuitanta, no té —afortunadament— l'acudit final a què està acostumat el lector català per considerar que un conte és interessant, i que es va establir a través del noucentisme, i especialment els relats de Josep Carner, ni aprofundeix tant en el sexe (és a dir, n'evita els detalls explícits). No calen comparacions, però. A més a més, atualment seria absurd escriure un llibre de contes amb un llenguatge poètic, o que tinguessin més informació de l'estrictament necessària.
Destaco els contes "Set dies al vaixell de l'amor" (el millor de tot el recull) i "El miracle dels pans i els peixos". Recomanaria aquest llibre a qui vulgui més del mateix, del que ja coneixem, però des d'un punt de vista menys intens. Són històries de bona qualitat, però que et deixaran amb el mateix estat d'ànim indiferent i desencantat que tenen els personatges. No el recomanaria a qui vulgui alguna cosa que trenqui amb el que ha estat, durant les últimes dècades, el cànon dels contes catalans.
Recomano veure les entrevistes de l'autor: és simpàtic i sap expressar-se molt bé.
November 12, 2020
Argument:
Això no és Amèrica ens sorprèn amb diversos relats curts molt originals. Des d’un home que fa autostop, fins un home que camina per l’Eixample, mai t’esperes els finals. Amb un to una mica amarg, la novel·la aconsegueix que et penedeixes dels protagonistes.
Personatges:
Hi ha diferents personatges a cada conte, però si volguéssim fer una descripció general, podríem trobar bastants similituds. Tots són personatges d’edat mitjana i amb un rastre de tristor i solitud. Aquests personatges han viscut i après, tenen els seus penediments que els dibuixen com perdedors a diferents àmbits.
Quin personatge t'ha interessat més? Per què?
No podria dir que m’agrada cap. Pots sentir empatia o compassió cap als personatges però en el meu cas no m’agraden gaire. Potser el compte que més em va agradar seria La mare del meu millor amic. Tot i que també té aquest rastre de personatges perdedors, parla d’erotisme i del trobament de l’oportunitat mai aconseguida en el passat.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2019
Qué finales tan... laterales.
September 26, 2022
I love Puntí!!
January 25, 2023
És un bon llibre de contes curts, ben escrit, i de bon llegir. No hi ha contes que t'enganxin, excepte un parell, però és un bon escriptor
May 22, 2024
Contes interessants. Tots fan pensar
April 16, 2025
Some of the shorts contained in this book were quite good and others really weren't
December 4, 2025
Una compilación de relatos, a mi parecer algo aburridos con poco nexo de unión entre unos y otros y con descripciones algo machirulas y sórdidas donde se cosifica en exceso a todas las protagonistas.
March 23, 2018
Interessant, desperta curiositat, entretingut, diferent.
This book was a recommendation from a good friend. I really liked the format of short stories, specially good for reading during short trips on the metro. The stories are intriguing, different from usual and with unexpected endings. I haven't put the 5 stars because I think it's a good book but I wouldn't classify it on my favouirte book list.
This book was a recommendation from a good friend. I really liked the format of short stories, specially good for reading during short trips on the metro. The stories are intriguing, different from usual and with unexpected endings. I haven't put the 5 stars because I think it's a good book but I wouldn't classify it on my favouirte book list.
May 21, 2019
Excellent collection of literary stories. I'm new to this author, but since he doesn't write in English, his exposure in the US is probably very limited, Anyway, I can see why he's so highly praised in the book blurbs. He is very talented with an excellent imagination! Recommended! 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars.
I really appreciate the ARC for review!
I really appreciate the ARC for review!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews