From Josep Pla's The Gray Notebook
(El Quadern Gris):
“It is dinnertime. The clatter of
plates, knives, and forks reaches as far as the street. The
southwesterly wind continues to blow damp and indifferent over
everything. The smell of pine resin melds with the aroma of roast
chicken. Stretched out on the beach next to their empty pot, half
asleep, the country folk gaze up at misty stars, which passing clouds
hide for a moment.
The dance begins late.”
Descriptions like this pepper almost
every page, and Pla's work is an excelllent example to all young (and
not so young) writers of the way in which an author can hone style
and language. Pla brings Early 20th century Catalonia to
life, showing himself to be as astute when talking about regular
people as he is when describing a meal or a dance. Here, he is
talking with the fishermen:
'“It's bad to say the war is coming
to an end?”
“Yes, wars produce fish.”
“Hey, come on.”
“I'm telling you. The voice of
experience […] fish like noise, buzz, canon fire, flotsam.”
Sometimes contact with humanity can
be depressing.
Hermos said this with eyes that
saddened me. His eyes believed what he was saying. My depression
deepened.'
Near the end, Pla begins to discuss the
work of a contemporary from France, a strange young man by the name
of Marcel Proust. Worth the read.
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