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NauenThen

What I'm reading

The Gray Notebook, Josep Pla (1897-1981), Catalan writer

 

Yesterday I heard myself say, Why would I ever read anything else? 

 

A couple of excerpts:

 

The people of the Ampuerdan are probably the most enthusiastic and elemental in all of Catalonia—provided their enthusiasm doesn't have to last too long. (p 23) 

 

Today Enric Frigola said that he knows a big fat man with a sensitive soul who feels immediately relieved of all material needs and worries, in a state of grace, whenver he loosens his belt a notch. (p 42) 

 

Bankers are gentlemen who lend you an umbrella when the sun shines. When it rains, don't count on their help. (p 52)

 

There are long descriptions of people, places, houses, parties, drinking, studying—everything you can think of. Aphorisms, musings, family lore. It's hard to convey the leisurely but thrilling flavor of the book without reading a lot of it. 

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