Maria Barbal: "In the book I have not treated the editors or the literary agents well"

BarcelonaFor Maria Barbal (Tremp, 1949), being a writer and being a writer are not the same thing. "While I'm promoting my latest published novel, I'm not really a writer, I'm acting as a writer. On the other hand, when I'm alone and I'm faced with words, then I am a writer," she explains. The author, 2021 Catalan Literature Honorary Award, has confronted all these contradictions through the character of Anton Bellart, the protagonist of his latest novel, Misadventures (Column / Destino). The book, which goes on sale this Wednesday, begins with Bellart at university, when he is on his way to a profession but discovers that what he is most passionate about is storytelling and writing. "What he experiences has been experienced by many writers, but not necessarily all of them, nor in the same way," says Barbal.

Misadventures Barbal combines fiction with the writer's thoughts on the literary task and the creative process. "For me, writing is a dialogue between my interior, my thoughts, and the exterior, what other people experience. The events I narrate connect us with universal themes such as love, guilt and self-confidence," she says. How do you manage the reception of your books? How do you take negative comments about your work? "Reading is a personal act of affirmation for the reader," says Barbal, who praises book clubs because she says that "they are probably the best opportunity to hear opinions that are usually sincere."

And what about success in the literary world? Barbal triumphed with Scree stone (1985) and has been translated into dozens of languages, including English, German and Hebrew. "It's a roller coaster effect. You succeed, then you suddenly fail and then you start to recover. This instability can affect very certain people, especially if the main concern is economic and the book doesn't sell," the writer stresses. She considers her career "positive", especially taking into account that she began to write in Catalan without having learned it at school. "The success of Scree stone "It has made everything that has come after a small failure. I have been understanding for many years that, most likely, nothing I write will reach the level of that book," he adds.

Looking back

The story of Anton Bellart reflects the loneliness of the creative process and the difficulties of making family life fit in with that of a writer. "Being a writer is not very productive and can lead to family problems. There is no solution, each person must find the best way to balance it out," says Barbal. He also portrays, with a critical eye and a good dose of irony, the trades of the literary world. "I admit that I have not treated the editors or the literary agents well in the book, but I am not pointing to anyone in particular. They are very broad groups that are constantly renewing themselves," says Barbal, who assures that after this book she has become "a little calmer" because she has been able to express what was going through her head. "At my age I have a perspective that looks more towards the past. This has helped me to revise the book," she adds.

After receiving the Honorary Prize for Catalan Literature, Barbal felt that the recognition was "a culmination" of her career. However, she says that she has never felt like folding, "not even when a novel has gone well" or when a book that she considered a successful work has been received enthusiastically by readers. "I have been swallowing that frustration. It is necessary to move forward," says the author, who gives as an example the rejection by certain readers when she decided to stop setting her stories in Pallars: "The writer, even if it goes wrong, must do what he wants to do." Now she continues with the same philosophy and assures that she plans to continue being and working as a writer for a good while.