25 books worth reading this fall

BarcelonaSummer is coming to its final weeks and, with the change of season, so does the rentrée Literary. September is traditionally a month packed with new releases in the publishing market, many of which mark the start of the school year. We've selected the 25 most promising.

'Changing My Mind', by Julian Barnes

Angle / Anagram. Translation by Alexandre Gombau

Without a doubt, Julian Barnes is one of the most skillful and effective storytellers in contemporary English literature. He has amply demonstrated this with novels such as Flaubert's Parrot (Editions 62) and The meaning of an ending (Ángulo), but this time the author opts for the essay with a collection of texts about what it means to change your mind. Barnes reflects with his characteristic lucid and elegant writing.

'Fam', by Núria Busquet Molist

Periscope

Six years after Ground Zero (LaBreu, 2019), with which she was nominated for the Llibreter Prize, the translator and writer Núria Busquet Molist publishes a new novel that is also an autofictional story. Hunger accompanies a protagonist who sees how her life has become everything she rejected as a young woman and who, furthermore, struggles against her daughter's desire to stop eating. In the form of a monologue, the writer unfolds a story about the generation that was young in the 90s and who, as adults, faces the dangers of a society governed by easy judgments and incomprehension.

'The Man Who Sold the World', by Melchor Comes

Bow

The labyrinths of power and the secrets of the political class have become two pillars of Melchor Comes' literary work, with such virtuous works as On the impure land (Proa, 2018) and All mechanisms (Proa, 2022). For this story, the Mallorcan writer has chosen the rise of a populist candidate for Barcelona City Council and her clash with a communications expert who sees how politics has robbed him of all his ideas.

'How to Disappear Completely', by Mariana Enriquez

Anagram

Long since converted into the queen mother of terror in Latin American literatureIn "The Undefeated," Mariana Enriquez constructs a haunting story about a teenager from Buenos Aires with a traumatic past and relegated to exclusion. The novel accompanies him when he is presented with a risky opportunity to break out of the margins, in a story with all the ingredients of Enriquez's literature: a gripping plot, profound characters, and an atmosphere that captivates the reader.

"The Undefeated," by William Faulkner

1984 Editions. Translation by Esther Tallada

In its extensive effort to translate William Faulkner's work into Catalan, Edicions de 1984 adds this classic about the experiences of a family in the heart of the Mississippi. Between the slaveholding past and an uncertain future, the protagonists—inspired by characters from the writer's family—will see how war, memory, and resistance govern their lives. The book is one of the cornerstones of Faulkner's literature, one of the most influential novelists of the 20th century.

'Question Seven', by Richard Flanagan

Periscope. Translation of Míriam Cano

In 2015, the publishing house Raig Verd brought the literature of Australian Richard Flanagan into Catalan for the first time, Booker Prize winner with the celebratedThe narrow road to the deep north (2013). This time, Periscopio is publishing this short story, a finalist for the Femina Étranger Prize, which blends autofiction and memoir to explore the writer's relationship with his parents and his island, Tasmania.

'Ferrocarriles de México' (Mexican Railways), by Gian Marco Griffi

The Second Periphery. Translation by Pau Vidal

Mexican Railways It is the most lucid example of the triumph of word of mouth. The novel, almost 700 pages long, defies the laws of the market with its length and narrative originality: it is the story of an Italian soldier who, during World War II, is tasked with drawing up a map of Mexico's railways. This absurd mission gives rise to an adventure full of eccentric and memorable characters who will lead him through an uchronic and extravagant reality. Griffi initially published 168 copies with a small publisher, Lausanne, but little by little the book gained traction and has already been translated into French, German, and now Catalan.

'A Long Road', by Abdulrazak Gurnah

Salamander. Translated by Rita da Costa García

He Nobel Prize jury chose in 2021 Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah for his "rigorous and moving approach to colonialism" in his literature. Gurnah had not published any other novels until now.In Theft (unpublished in Catalan and published in Spanish with the title A long road), the author delves into 1990s Zanzibar—a time and place virtually invisible in literature—and, through the lives of three young people, vividly portrays its social transformation.

'A Rain Song', by Joan-Lluís Lluís

Editor Club

Joan Lluís Lluís further broadens the horizons of his literature. If with Junil in the lands of the barbarianstransported hundreds of readers to the confines of the Roman Empire, now plays an unlikely protagonist: an orangutan named Ella-Calla, who has escaped from a ship where she had been imprisoned. Her journey to freedom is a tale of the wickedness of human beings, but also a paean to brotherhood, seen through the eyes of a primate.

'Daughter of Vengeance', by Michael McDowell

Blackie Books. Translated by Anna Llisterri

Blackie Books made a splash last year by recovering Blackwater, by Michael McDowell, a series originally published in the 1980s and which, four decades later, has triumphed among Catalan readers. Following in the wake of that success, the publisher is now bringing back another title by the writer, Daughter of Revenge. It is a thriller About a woman seeking avenge her family, it promises dizzying intrigue and a voracious read.

'The Bonfires of Autumn' by Irène Némirovsky

Vienna. Translation of Josep Maria Pinto

For the first time, one of Irène Némirovsky's last novels is being published in Catalan: a story set in interwar France about a soldier who returns from the trenches deeply disillusioned. The book is the third in the suitcase that held two other manuscripts by the writer for 60 years: French Suite (La Magrana, 2022) and Warm-blooded (Vienna, 2021).

'Before Yet', by Miquel de Palol

Navona

Readers and followers of Miquel de Palol know for a fact that, when it comes to writing, he doesn't give a damn. The writer's works tend to extend to hundreds of pages—in this case, around 800—through which he builds complex worlds with eccentric and surprising characters. Before yet reconstructs the trauma of a family marked by power struggles in a disoriented, post-industrial Barcelona.

'Combat Prose', by Manuel de Pedrolo

Comanegra

Manuel de Pedrolo's first political essay is a text censored in 1966 and unpublished to this day. Comanegra publishing house publishes it alongside his best articles, in a selection made by Júlia Ojeda, a doctor of Catalan literature. In the texts, Pedrolo reflects on bilingualism in Catalonia, Franco's repression, and nationalism, and expresses his perspective on the "other Catalans."

'Israel in 1957: A Report', by Josep Pla

Destination

Destino publishing house is republishing the reports Josep Pla wrote in 1957, during his trip to Israel, which were later published in volumes containing the writer's complete works. The last edition of the volume was in 2002, and now the publisher has seen fit to revive it for a 21st-century perspective, with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in full swing.

'The Game of Silence', by Gil Pratsobrerroca

The Bell

The first novel by political scientist and screenwriter Gil Pratsobrerroca is a thriller A dizzying story that begins with the disappearance of a seven-year-old girl in the town of Arcavell. The parents will lead a desperate search to find her despite the constant accusations that place them at the center of the crime. "It's the Catalan Joël Dicker"says the editorial team of La Campana about Pratsobrerroca, who has worked as a scriptwriter forThe bunker from Catalonia Radio.

'My Work', by Olga Ravn

Anagram. Translation of Maria Rosich

When Olga Ravn returned to work after maternity leave, she found the office "a grotesque place." From that experience, she learned The template, a futuristic novel that explores the lives of working people and was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. The Danish writer now imagines a protagonist in the midst of the storm of recent motherhood. My work, a narrative collage that explores the arrival of a child in the life of an ordinary woman.

'The Word That Conquers Death', by Rob Riemen

Arcadia. Translated by Auke Oosterhoff

The combative voice of philosopher Rob Riemen, who tirelessly fights against fascism, takes the form here of an essay in defense of utopianism. Riemen has stood out, especially in recent years, for to expose populisms and their evilsIn this text, she attacks the authoritarian drift of the present and provides tools for confronting the obscurantism, demagoguery, and intellectual lukewarmness of today's society.

'The Winged Ones', by Elisabet Riera

Weeds

Birds occupy a good part of the pages of this autobiographical story by Elisabet Riera, a novel that stems from her childhood experiences with her father under the statue of Columbus. From there, the writer creates an inner dialogue with the bird Tiresias and delves into the relationship between humans and birds in various eras and mythologies. The book arrives afterOnce upon a time it was summer all night long(Males Herbes, 2023), a plea for romantic love that was finalist for the Òmnium Award for best novel.

'A woman of your age', by Gemma Ruiz Palà

Bow

After win the Sant Jordi award with Our mothersGemma Ruiz Palà returns to bookstores with a protagonist who rebels against menopause. This woman has spent half her life conforming to the patterns imposed on her by society until she decides to leave home, return to her calling as a sculptor, and travel to Venice as a guest of the Venice Art Biennale. "I wrote the Hollywood protagonist I've missed in movies. We've learned to do many things through cinema, but something they haven't taught us, at least not women, is how to learn to grow old." explains Ruiz Palà.

'Scenarios', by Toni Sala

The Other Editorial

Toni Sala closes the trilogy of evil that began with the impressive The boys (The Other, 2014) and Persecution (L'Otra, 2019) with the autobiographical story of an actor who has left audiovisuals to dedicate himself to theater. Scenarios It connects with its predecessors through reflections on death, which lead the writer to speak about life. Through a solid and heartbreaking narrative, Sala constructs a clear-eyed portrait of the final years of our country's history.

'I Will Take the Fire', by Leïla Slimani

Angle. Translation by Joan Casas

The narrative triptych that Leïla Slimani began with The country of others (Ángulo, 2021) and continued with Look how we dance (Angle, 2023) is completed with this novel which, like the previous ones, delves into the family history of the Franco-Moroccan writer. The protagonists are two young women born in Morocco in the 1980s, one of whom decides to move to Paris to dedicate herself to writing and embrace freedom.

'Gliff', by Ali Smith

Green Ray / Nordic. Translation by Dolores Udina

Ali Smith's incorruptible literature grows with this translation of Gliff, her most recent novel. The Scottish writer is one of the most recognized voices on the international scene, especially for his talent in pointing out the cracks in contemporary society, capitalism and power through fiction. In Gliff builds a dystopia about two characters excluded in a totalitarian and brutally unequal system. Its story has echoes of brilliant seasonal quartet which catapulted Smith to the forefront of British literature.

'The Fraud', by Zadie Smith

Jande. Translated by Marta Pera Cucurell

Nine years have passed since Zadie Smith public Swing time (translated into Spanish by Salamandra in 2017), but finally we will be able to read it in Catalan The fraud, which the writer published in English in 2023. Critically acclaimed, Smith blends fiction with the Tichborne trial, which took place between 1860 and 1870 with a slave as the star witness. In the novel, Smith presents a bullying, moralistic Dickens and a fading novelist living in a hypocritical and deceitful world.

'Take Up Your Cross', by Antonia Vicens

LaBreu

Between poetry and novel, Antònia Vicens's new book connects verse with prose to create a series of images and ideas that resonate like classical myths. Vicens' voice shines with authenticity and the dreamlike forms it takes, making the writer from Santanyí a leading figure in Catalan literature. The author thus returns to the poetry shelves of bookstores after Father, what do we do with the dead mother?(2020), for which she won the Serra d'Or Award.

'The Guardian', by Yael van der Wouden

Amsterdam / Salamander. Translated by Anna Carreras

Yael van der Wouden was one of the breakout authors of English literature last year. The guardian, now available in Catalan and Spanish, takes place fifteen years after World War II in a small village in rural Holland. Isabel lives alone in her family's home, where she has established a strict routine that she meticulously follows. Eva's arrival will disrupt her reality in a story of sensual and provocative intrigue.