Długa Berta

by Cuca Canals

W przepięknej, skrzącej się humorem poetyckiej opowieści o Navidad wiosce zagubionej na końcu świata autorka z mistrzostwem prowadzi czytelnika przez zabawne, a zarazem przerażające przygody jej mieszkańców. Długa Berta, Amadeusz Głuptak, alkad Feliciano i inni navidyjczycy walczą o przetrwanie, kochają i nienawidzą, przeżywają lęki i dramaty. Uśmiech raz po raz ustępuje miejsca łzom wzruszenia. Bo baśń to niby, a taka prawdziwa...

Cuca Canals urodziła się w Barcelonie w 1962 roku. Ukończyła studia dziennikarskie. Kilka lat pracowała w reklamie, a od 1998 roku pisze scenariusze filmowe dla Bigasa Luny. Długa Bertajest jej pierwszą powieścią. Cuca Canals mówi, że uwielbia szynkę, Fernando Pessoę, lubi zawieszać różne przedmioty na dachu swego domu, kocha nieme kino, poezję wizualną i morze. Identyfikuje się z dadaizmem.

Genres: Spain, Fiction

166 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Yaroslava · Rating 4 out of 5]

Іншість - не вирок, а дар, навіть якщо сам обдарований цього не усвідомлює. Для мене саме про це чарівна історія довгої Берти - дівчинки, що завдяки своєму понадпересічному зросту була ближчою до неба.

[Piotr Ferster · Rating 3 out of 5]

uwielbiam tę okładkę

[Kalina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kocham, cudowna. Tyle się działo, na 90% kiedyś przeczytam jeszcze raz. Za szybko ją skończyłam :(

[Laura Inês Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Não é um clássico mas é talvez um dos meus livros favoritos. É impossível não sentirmos empatia pela escrita quase que infantil de Cuca Canals. É uma história de amor ao estilo de Romeu e Julieta ao modo latino, cheio de humor e orgulhoso das suas raízes, das suas crenças.
É verdadeiramente uma estória apaixonante.

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mi puntaje sería más bien un 3,5 porque, si bien me tuvo entretenida bastante y me lo devoré, en la última parte (a mi gusto) empezó a hacer agua y no me convenció el desenlace. Está muy bien la caracterización del lugar y los pobladores. Acá no se juzga a nadie, se presenta a cada uno como es, con sus pensamientos y sentimientos más brutos. Me gusta el realismo mágico, y más con una cuota de humor como en este caso. Como ya dije, el final me pareció que ya se le estaba yendo de las manos y los personajes terminaron siendo demasiado fríos para mi gusto.
Sin duda una lectura diferente.

[Zoe Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book focuses on the life of a small village in the middle of nowhere and its people's rivalry with the inhabitants of a neighbouring village. Berta falls in love with Jonas, the postman from that other village, and so the scene for a Romeo and Juliet story is set. But this is no tragedy. The story, even though some of the main characters die during the course of the war between the two villages, is often humorous.

Canals draws a picture of a very real village in which magical things happen, but people don't always realize - contrary to the Goodreads description no one links the weather to Berta's moods, not even Berta herself. The portraits of the various village characters and their petty squabbles - from the old woman who keeps everyone awake with her singing, the mayor's wife who never stops talking, the priest with very attractive legs and even the donkey - will all be familiar to anyone living in a small community. I was reminded of Gabriel Chevallier's satirical novel Clochemerle. Canals' style is witty and light of touch. The narrative is interspersed with comical illustrations, such as a picture of Berta's body with pointing hands indicating which parts which Jonas is allowed to touch and which not, and ends with a series of amusing appendices, which had me giggling.

This is a delightful book, clever in its simplicity.

This review first appeared on the Magic Realism Books Blog, where I review a magic realism book a week.

[Sandra Santana Valente · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uma viagem até uma aldeia remota de Espanha cheia de personagens caricatas e caricaturadas que nos divertem e fazem rir, transportando-nos para um cenário fílmico, completado com ilustrações quase surreais.
Uma história de amor ao estilo Romeu e Julieta, trespassada pelas rivalidades de duas aldeias vizinhas desde sempre inimigas. Um amor impossível mas imparável que vai arrastar com ele a luta entre as duas povoações. Um bom livro para entreter, cheio de amor e ternura mas também muito humor e ironia, óptimo para descomprimir de leituras mais pesadas.

[Joana Gomes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny book I read in the bus trips to work :-) a crazy love story, in a small village full of “special” people!

[Menna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tee hee! I loved this book. Very reminiscent of Almodovar films. Rather bizarre and totally captivating. It won't change your life but it's well worth a read. Very entertaining.

[Andy Murphy-Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything about this book. I loved the characters, the story, the donkey, the lists. Absolutely everything. It's charming. Short and sweet.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! Seems a easy book and ordinary but is awesme and you can't imagine how value their words have. Means more than you think..

[Tallulah :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a sweet story , loved it