“Canto jo i la muntanya balla” (When I sing the mountain dances) is a novel written by Catalan writer Irene Solà. And what a wonderful adventure going through those 186 pages. I couldn’t put it down and it kept me awake until late at night. Those kinds of books you can’t stop reading because you are so into the story that you can’t help but keep going through the lines to finally reveal the mysteries. Even if that means overcoming the feeling of guilty (or not that guilty) pleasure while going through the adventures when it is past midnight.
When I sing mountains dance: recommended to whom?
To everyone, obviously. But there is this language barrier: the novel is written using a wide and rich variety of vocabulary and Catalan expressions. This is why you should have an “advanced” level of reading comprehension in Catalan to completely understand the characters’ crossing paths, the metaphors or the rich vocabulary (nouns and adjectives specially picked up to describe some passages). But here is the good news: in case you don’t have yet that fluency in Catalan, you can read this novel in Spanish: Canto yo y la montaña baila. And even better good news: the novel will be translated to some other languages, among them, English.
The Pyrenees: land of legends, magic and myths
A lot has been said about some legends and myths hidden throughout the years in this magic land called “Pyrenees”. And that feeling is so well reflected in each line. A blurry line is drawn between reality and fiction through the voice of particular narrators in each chapter. A bunch of really special narrators actually…
Canto jo i la muntanya balla: who’s talking?
This is one of the most wonderful literary resources used by the author: not only people have something to say. There is a whole animated imaginary in the Pyrenees who has a lot to share with the reader: storms, roe deers, witches… and even mushrooms! So the main narrator changes in every chapter. It might be a real person or it might be the voice of some nature element. And at the beginning that resource kind of blew my mind. Genius.
The Pyrenees: history, society and culture
But the magic is perfectly threaded with historical events related, for instance, to the Civil War in Spain and also the lifestyle of a traditional Catalan society in a little village located far away from the city, Camprodon. A dose of reality which is perfectly melted with fictional elements. If you want to know more about the Pyrenees and its beautiful villages, don’t miss the article: Holidays in the Pyrenees, Pallars Sobirà
Fiction or reality? Or both?
Maybe the combination of both is the key: because you never get to know with certainty if some passages are about to get real finally or just be kept on the narrator’s imagination. Because deep inside, in this land of magic and mysticism, what is “real” and what is not? (Food for thought…).
Recognized awards for Canto jo i la muntanya balla
This novel hasn’t gone unnoticed by critics. It won the recognized Catalan award “Premi llibres Anagrama de Novel·la” which is, from our point of view, a well deserved award for such a beautiful novel. And that award was quickly followed by Premio Cálamo (Canto yo y la montaña baila) and the European Union Prize for literature 2020.
If you want to keep reading about other beautiful villages with History, we highly recommend you the article Weekend getaway, from Barcelona to Cadaqués