Come on up

Title:

Come on up

Author:

Nopca, Jordi, 1983- author.

Uniform Title:

Puja a casa. English

ISBN:

9781942658801

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

ix, 211 pages ; 21 cm.

General Note:

"Come On Up was originally published in Catalan in 2015 as Puja a casa by L'Altra Editorial"--Title page verso.

Contents:

An intersectional conservationist at heart -- Don't leave -- Engagement ring -- Oklahoma panther -- Angels Quintana and Felix Palme have problems -- A man with a future -- Cinema d'Auteur -- Swiss army knife -- We have each other -- The neighbor ladies -- Candles and robes.

Subject Term:

Interpersonal relations -- Fiction.

Short stories -- 21st century.

Geographic Term:

Barcelona (Spain) -- Social conditions -- 21st century -- Fiction.

Barcelona (Spain) -- Social life and customs -- 21st century -- Fiction.

Genre:

Short stories.

Added Author:

Lethem, Mara

Summary:

What happens when the hopes of a generation are dashed by austerity policies and underemployment? Come On Up is a group portrait of contemporary Barcelona, beaten by the economic crisis and divided by a secessionist movement. Always witty, often absurdist, these stories offer a mesmerizing glimpse into the daily lives of couples, families, and neighbors living the new normal of the 21st century. A husband seeks revenge on his wife as they stalk author Peter Stamm; an out-of-work bartender fills his empty days by shoving bananas into the tailpipes of parked cars; a mysterious ritual, spied through a neighbor's window, arouses deadly spirits. Masterfully paced, the eleven mordant stories of Come On Up draw us into an embattled world whose past is unresolved and whose future is uncertain. --

Language Note:

TRANSLATED FROM CATALAN.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	FICTION NOP	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	FICTION NOP	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Global capitalism fails young Barcelona couples in this dynamic debut

"Heartbreaking and hilarious" -- New York Times Book Review

"Nopca's stories, written with clarity and flair, are smart and modern, filled with sharply observed detail. They capture the unease of the times and the flux of contemporary life in Barcelona with wit, wisdom, moments of pure hilarity, and a mixture of sympathy and dark laughter." -- Colm Tóibín , author of Brooklyn and House of Names

A husband seeks revenge on his wife as they stalk author Peter Stamm; an out-of-work bartender fills his empty days by shoving bananas into the tailpipes of parked cars; a mysterious ritual, spied through a neighbor's window, arouses deadly spirits. Masterfully paced, the eleven mordant stories of Come On Up draw us into an embattled world whose past is unresolved and whose future is uncertain.

Author Notes

Jordi Nopca is the author of two novels and the short story collection Come On Up . Named a "Young Catalan Writer to Watch" by Culture Trip , his books have received the Proa and Documenta Prizes. Nopca is also an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in Time Out Barcelona and Words Without Borders . Based in Barcelona, Nopca is editor of the newspaper Ara and its literary supplement Ara Llegim . Come On Up is his first book of fiction to appear in English.

Mara Faye Lethem is an award-winning translator of numerous Catalan writers, including Jaume Cabré, Marta Orriols, Max Besora, Alicia Kopf, Jordi Nopca, Albert Sánchez Piñol, Toni Sala, and Irene Solà. Her translations have received two English PEN Awards and have been longlisted for the National Translation Award and the International DUBLIN Literary Award. They have also appeared in the Guardian , Tin House , Paris Review , Granta , Words Without Borders , A Public Space , McSweeney's , and elsewhere. She lives in Brooklyn and Barcelona.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Citizens on the fringe of Catalan society are the stars in Spanish journalist Nopca's witty collection, his English-language debut. In "Don't Leave," an aspiring art historian deals with a clash between her boyfriend and a charming suitor. "Àngels Quintana and Fèlix Palme Have Problems" follows a waiter who loses his job after arguing with rude customers and inadvertently starts a movement by sticking bananas into the exhaust pipes of motorcycles owned by Barcelona's cultural elite. In the best story, "Candles and Robes," a family's neighbors perform rituals to return spirits to the world of the dead. Emotions are often distilled through an omniscient narrator's wry asides. In "An Intersectional Conservationist at Heart," in which an arrogant professor dies after getting a young journalist and her boyfriend fired, the couple sees a Tarantino film, "another one of his stories of vengeance and payback." While Nopca relies a bit too heavily on describing dreams to reveal characters, he succeeds at tying the stories to Barcelona's fraught place in the Catalan secession movement. All of the stories make noise, and some of them really take off. Agent: Sandra Pareja, Casanovas & Lynch Literary Agency. (Feb.)

Kirkus Review

These short stories chronicle the romantic, intellectual, and economic frustrations of disparate characters in Barcelona. The stories in Catalan writer Nopca's English-language debut often take an intimate view of their characters. For some, that involves venturing in the minutiae of a relationship; for others, it's about taking a deep dive into the characters' literary and artistic tastes. The first story, "An Intersectional Conservationist at Heart," establishes the milieu very quickly; it focuses on a handful of meetings between a journalist and a poet and academic. Despite the story's weighty title and the literary allusions found within--including mentions of V.S. Naipaul and Harold Pinter--Nopca is less focused on intellectual credibility than on the missed connections, petty rivalries, and ethical lapses his characters must contend with. These stories don't focus only on intellectuals, however: "Àngels Quintana and Fèlix Palme Have Problems" tells the story of a couple working in bars and hotels who find themselves out of work after they hit 40 in youth-obsessed Barcelona. Bars also play a significant role in "The Neighbor Ladies," whose immigrant protagonist, Jia, begins to question his chosen vocation as a bar owner after learning the tragic life story of a hard-drinking woman who regularly asks him for "gin tonic." The highlight of the collection is "Swiss Army Knife," about a middle-aged couple whose fondness for reading the literature of the countries they visit drives a rift between them. Gradually, the real-life Swiss writer Peter Stamm takes on a greater and greater significance for both of them, leading to a conclusion that's both deadpan comedic and harrowingly bleak. These stories can occasionally feel a little too witty, but their moments of wry humor and human interaction are frequently rewarding. From intellectual satire to slapstick comedy, this book covers plenty of emotional terrain. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

An award-winning Spanish journalist and writer, Nopca presents his first English-translated collection of stories. In "An Intersectional Conversationalist at Heart," Victòria works hard to become a journalist. However, brief encounters with a famous poet cause various shifts in her career that shine a light on the impermanence of professional success and the importance of character in the grand scheme of life. In "Don't Leave," Míriam finds work at a retail store after an unsuccessful search for a job in an art gallery. A man, whom she calls Robin Hood, begins to visit her every day on his way to another destination and waits in long lines to bring her free hot chocolate. She romanticizes their interactions without realizing that both of them seem to be using each other to distract themselves from some unspoken discontent. In "Engagement Ring," Rafael romanticizes his relationships with his beloved dog, grandmother, and ex-girlfriend, leading to an engagement and a honeymoon trip that his grandmother believes will end in tragedy. Nopca's stories are delightfully witty, insightful, and masterfully told.

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

Booklist Review

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