Stone In A Landslide by Maria Barbal

It is Wednesday morning. Only 22 degrees C at the moment, which is much more like we are used to in this country, and there is a 30% chance of rain showers today, which will be welcomed, especially by the plants in my wee garden. I had a friend visit me last week who gave me a book as a present. I read it last night in one sitting, so I just thought I would tell you about it while it is still fresh in my mind. It is called Stone In A Landslide by Maria Barbal. It is a novella of only 126 pages which is why I was able to read it so quickly. The book was the authors first work of fiction and was originally published in Catalonia in 1985. This English translation was published in 2010 by the Peirene Press who specialise in translations of contemporary European literature. The translator is from Ireland and called Laura McGloughlin.

Maria Barbal.

The story is told through the eyes of an old lady called Conxa who is living in Barcelona and looking back at her life in a small mountain village in the Pyrenees in the early part of the 20^th century. She was the fifth of six children. The family was so poor that at the age of thirteen she is sent to live with a childless aunt called Tia and her husband who Conxa just calls Oncle. Thus begins a life of unrelenting hard work. Eventually she meets Jaume who is a builder, and the happiest time of her life begins. Tia initially doesn’t want her to get married, but eventually relents when she can see advantages to it. They have two daughters Elvira and Angeleta and finally a son Mateu. Her husband is often absent due to work, and he becomes involved in republican politics. Their lives are shattered with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War when Jaume is taken away, never to be seen again. Conxa and her daughters are also taken away and incarcerated for a while, but eventually allowed to return to their home. The children grow up, marry and Conxa becomes a grandmother. The children all leave and finally Conxa does as well. It is when in Barcelona that she realises how much her previous life in the village of Pallares meant to her. That is why she can recall the sights and smells so vividly. When a person leaves their home of nearly a lifetime, the memory becomes an art form.

The story is told in a very simple sparse way in the language of a person of limited education. It is the story of someone who accepts their role in life without judgement. Conxa lived through one of the great events of the 20^th century but took no interest until it devasted her life. There is no political comment apart from her noticing Monsignor Miquel’s sermons from the pulpit were not about the bible, but about republicanism being a disaster, and people should accept their lot in life and stop complaining. Although it is not a feminist book, there are some wry observations that the men make most of the decisions, but women do most of the work. Maria Barbal was born in 1949, so could not have witnessed these events for herself, but I noticed that the book is dedicated to her parents. I suspect that it was by listening to her parents that she learned what life was like during this tumultuous period in history. I enjoyed this book immensely. It is a message that whatever oppression is inflicted on people, they still have the courage to carry on. I suspect that in the villages of Ukraine today there are people just like Conxa.