Penguin European Writers: Mercè Rodoreda

Penguin European Writers is a new series of forgotten classics by European writers, with introductions by acclaimed contemporary authors. As a former student of French and Italian, I felt compelled by the current political climate to begin a new initiative to promote European literature to British readers. Translated fiction offers a unique insight into another culture; it promotes the exchange of ideas between writers, and empathy between readers.

Only around 3% of books published in English are in translation and less than a third of all literary translations published in the UK are written by women, meaning there are so many wonderful writers and translators still waiting to be discovered.

I am delighted to be launching the Penguin European Writers series with a bewitching and unsettling novel, Death in Spring by Mercè Rodoreda, brilliantly translated by Martha Tennent and with an illuminating introduction by Colm Tóibín.

Often seen as an allegory for life under a dictatorship, Death in Spring is a dark and dream-like tale of a young boy’s coming of age in a remote village in the Catalan mountains. Rodoreda based the novel on her own experiences of exile during the Spanish Civil War and she is widely regarded as the greatest Catalan writer of the twentieth century. I hope the Penguin European Writers series will not only introduce readers to some of Europe’s most extraordinary authors but also inspire readers to seek out more works in translation from all different countries and backgrounds.

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Contemporary Women Writers, On Writing