Institut Ramon LLull

Toronto Public Library presents Jordi Nopca: Come on Up, Tales of Barcelona

Literature.  Toronto, 03/05/2021

What happens when the hopes of a generation are dashed by austerity policies and underemployment? In his expertly paced collection of stories, Come On Up, rising literary star, Jordi Nopca, shows us a group portrait of contemporary Barcelona, beaten by the economic and the political crisis.




Always witty, often absurdist, these stories offer a mesmerizing glimpse into the daily lives of couples, families, and neighbours 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 neighbour's window, arouses deadly spirits.

Jordi Nopca talks with Dimitri Nasrallah about his collection, Come on Up, and the embattled world he portrays with an unresolved past and an uncertain future.

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. Born in Barcelona in 1983, 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.

Photograph of the author is courtesy of Violeta Gumà.

Come on Uptranslated from Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem, was published in the US by Bellevue Literary Press.

“In Lethem’s witty translation from Catalan, the 11 stories [of Come On Up] are heartbreaking and hilarious, tender and violent.” — New York Times Book Review

Documenta Prize Winner

La Vanguardia “Best Fiction of the Year” selection

Bookshop.org “New Releases” selection

Powell’s Books “New Literature in Translation” selection

Symposium Books “New Releases” selection

 

Jordi Nopca: Come on Up, Tales of Barcelona

Fri May 28, 2021

12:00pm - 1:00pm EST

Sign up to join the virtual event here

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