ESTIMADA MIRTA
Forbidden loves, a fight for freedom, an old man’s regrets: in her most ambitious novel, Maria Escalas brings us the enthralling tale of a clan of Mallorcan immigrants in turbulent 20th century Argentina.
It’s 1947. Barely sixteen years old, Francisco has just disembarked in Buenos Aires after a long voyage from Mallorca. He finds work as an apprentice in a factory owned by the wealthy businessman Don Gaspar and quickly sets about climbing the social ladder and getting his family established in their new home town. But in the turbulent Argentina of the mid-20th century, the benefits of superior status come at a high price that Francisco could not have dreamt of.
Powerful and intensely atmospheric, Estimada Mirta combines all the ingredients of great family sagas: love and deceit, the struggle for freedom, the strength of blood ties and the weight of an unforgivable past. In her third novel, Maria Escalas displays a portentous literary maturity and establishes herself as a major author of contemporary Catalan fiction.
«We understand life looking back, but we live it looking forward.»
PRESS
«A choral piece in the tradition of the great family histories, like Natalia Ginzburg’s Family Lexicon or Thomas Mann’s Buddenbrooks.» Anna Carreras, Núvol
«A delightful novel. Maria has a way of writing the grabs hold of you. It’s very well written. A festive read.» Sílvia Cantos
«It’s one of those books that works its way inside of you. What we have here is a mighty novel. It’s a nicely constructed story, with many points of view, carefully dosed out.» Eva Piquer, Rac 1
«A story that shakes and beats you.» Xavier Graset in Más 324
«Brava, Maria! Estimada Mirta is—even though some may want a text based on characters’ emotions and actions—a book about pacifism, about collaborationism, about supposed neutrality and the value of living in community. A profoundly political text. A lovely example of literature in opposition to indifference.» Sebastià Portell in ARA