The beginning of the 20th century: 13-year-old Conxa has to leave her home village in the Pyrenees to work for her childless aunt. After years of hard labour, she finds love with Jaume - a love that will be thwarted by the Spanish Civil War. Approaching her own death, Conxa looks back on a life in which she has lost everything except her own indomitable spirit. ------- Why Peirene chose to publish this book: 'I fell in love with Conxa's narrative voice, its stoic calmness and the complete lack of anger and bitterness. It's a timeless voice, down to earth and full of human contradictory nuances. It's the expression of someone who searches for understanding in a changing world but senses that ultimately there may be no such thing.' Meike Ziervogel, Publisher

Author Biography

Maria Barbal, born in 1949, is considered the most influential Catalan contemporary author. The clarity with which she presents human relations and the effects of the passage of time has earned her critical acclaim and a wide readership. She has published eight novels and has won numerous awards, including the Critics' Prize, the National Prize for Literature and the Serra d'Or Prize. She lives in Barcelona.