La Plaça del Diamant / The Time of the Doves

La Plaça del Diamant / The Time of the Doves, was written by Mercè Rodoreda in 1962. An English translation by David Rosenthal was published in 1981 by Graywolf Press. This “powerfully written story of a naive shop-tender during the Spanish Civil War and beyond is a rare and moving portrait of a simple soul confronting and surviving a convulsive period of history”.

La novel·la La Plaça del Diamant de Mercè Rodoreda va ser publicada en anglès a l’any 1981 amb traducció de David Rosenthal. Així comença ...

Here are the opening lines in both languages ...

La Julieta va venir expressament a la pastisseria a dir-me que, abans de rifar la toia, rifarien cafeteres; que ella ja les havia vistes: precioses, blanques, amb una taronja pintada, partida en dues meitats, que ensenyava els pinyols. Jo no tenia ganes d’anar a ballar ni tenia ganes de sortir, perquè m’havia passat el dia despatxant dolços i les puntes dels dits em feien mal de tant estrènyer cordills daurats i de tant fer nusos i agafadors. I perquè coneixia la Julieta, que a la nit no li venia de tres hores i tant li feia dormir com no dormir. Però em va fer seguir vulgues no vulgues, perquè jo era així, que patia si algú em demanava una cosa i havia de dir que no. Anava blanca de dalt a baix: el vestit i els enagos emmidonats, les sabates com un glop de llet, les arracades de pasta blanca, tres braçalets rotllana que feien joc amb les arracades i un portamonedes blanc, que la Julieta em va dir que era d’hule, amb la tanca com una petxina d’or.

Julieta came by the pastry shop just to tell me that, before they raffled off the basket of fruit and candy, they’d raffle some coffeepots. She’s already seen them: lovely white ones with oranges painted on them. The oranges were cut in half so you could see the seeds. I didn’t feel like dancing or even going out because I’d spent the day selling pastries and my fingertips hurt from tying so many gold ribbons and making so many bows and handles. And because I knew Julieta. She felt fine after three hours’ sleep and didn’t care if she slept at all. But she made me come even though I didn’t want to, because that’s how I was. It was hard for me to say no if someone asked me to do something. I was dressed all in white, my dress and petticoats starched, my shoes like two drops of milk, my earrings white enamel, three hoop bracelets that matched the earrings, and a white purse Julieta said was made of vinyl with a snap shaped like a gold shellfish.