: A farmer and poet whose sudden death by lightning in the opening chapter sets the story in motion.
In the landscape of contemporary European literature, few debuts have felt as seismic—or as wild—as Irene Solà’s Canto yo y la montaña baila (published in English as When I Sing, the Mountain Dances ). Since its original publication in Catalan by Editorial Anagrama in 2019, the novel has traversed linguistic borders, gathering a constellation of awards including the prestigious Premi Llibreter and the European Union Prize for Literature. irene sola canto yo y la montana baila
When it was published in Catalan in 2019, critics hailed it as a breakthrough. The English translation by Mara Faye Lethem (published by Graywolf Press) preserved the incantatory rhythm of the original prose. Solà’s style is often compared to that of Olga Tokarczuk ( Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead ) and the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez, but with a distinct European mountain roughness. : A farmer and poet whose sudden death
As we navigate the climate crisis, Canto yo y la montaña baila feels prophetic. It arrives at a moment when humans are desperate to reconnect with nature, but we don't know how. Solà offers a toolbox: When it was published in Catalan in 2019,
What makes this book a "must-read" is Solà’s background as a visual artist. Her prose is incredibly sensory; you can smell the damp earth, feel the electricity in the air, and hear the rustle of the undergrowth.