Human Erosion

• Book: Stone in a Landslide
• Location: The Pyrenees (Catalonia)
• Author: Maria Barbal

Maria Barbal, one of the most famous Catalan authors, finally has her first publication in the English language, thanks to Peirene Press with Stone in a Landslide, originally published in 1985. It is a paean to the home and the homeland as we experience Catalonia through Conxa. Her life is an allegory for Catalonia as she and its land experiences the remote poverty, its wars and Barcelona’s burgeoning wealth in the later part of the 20th century.
Like the landscape, the prose is sparse, realist and pragmatic, and like no food is wasted, nor is no word. This helps provide a strong, emotive account of Conxa’s life and when the inevitable revolution ensues, its account is powerful.
After this, Conxa must accept the transition of life, as she grows old, where she was caring for her children, she must now be cared for by them. The story closes with a poetic, and lyrical contemplation of life in the city. Conxa’s story is one of innocence, love, loss, and aging, like so many others, she is a stone in a landslide.

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