Viatges i flors

In this new edition of the beautiful and enigmatic texts that make up Viatges i flors we wanted to pay tribute to Mercè Rodoreda through the eyes of the illustrator Bernat Cormand. We propose a new reading of the celebrated Catalan author. The two collections of stories from Travels and Flowers have been written in two stages and in a very different way from each other. Flowers Really lasted an eternity and was written in Geneva. Strange, unusual flowers, a beautiful flora that was becoming natural to the author. Now a real flower was born, later another real flower was born. The collection was not completed until a couple of years later and was locked in a drawer. Instead, Travels to a few villages was written in Romanyà in a hurry and not long ago. They are mysteries of creation impossible to elucidate. Some of these narratives are pathetic, funny: all of them, however, despite the humor and so much fantasy, reflect life, the futility of existence, the struggle to survive. A flight from reality - according to JMG Le Clézio: "Reality does not matter so much, what matters is the movements coming from within, the pulsations coming out of the depths" - is, always, a the writer's confrontation with his reality is profound. The general impression that emerges from this little book is that throughout these narratives the author has found nothing but herself. In Flowers really his passion for flowers with all that is essential in flowers; in Travels to a few villages, he has taken flowers out of the drawer that were closed, his need to flee. Deep down this book is nothing but a smile.