Barcelona Tales presents a selection of newly translated short stories by 14 writers, many of them Catalan. The stories open up Barcelona in ironic, tragic, and lyrical ways, inviting readers to explore fictional lives and literary styles that reflect the dynamic, conflict-ridden character and history of this great European city.

• General Introduction, Helen Constantine


• Introduction, Peter Bush


• 1. What happened to Don Quixote when he went to Barcelona?, Miguel de Cervantes


• 2. Transplanted, Narcís Oller


• 3. A Brief, Heart-warming Story of a Madame Bovary Born and Bred in Gràcia, Following our Best Principles and Traditions, Montserrat Roig


• 4. Ramon from Montjuic, Josep Pla


• 5. Blitz on Barcelona, C.A. Jordana


• 6. A Detective Story, Juan Marsé


• 7. Three Steps, Miquel Molina


• 8. Dead Time, Teresa Solana


• 9. The Shoe-shine and La Locomotora, Alfredo Bryce Echenique


• 10. Neighbours, Jordi Nopca


• 11. Which Country Do You Want?, Empar Moliner


• 12. The Sound of Keys, Najat El Hachmi


• 13. The Boy who was Sure to Die, Quim Monzó


• 14. Julio, the Parrot and the Taxi Driver, Jorge Carrión


• Notes on the Authors


• Further Reading and Viewing


• Publisher's Acknowledgements


• Map

Peter Bush first went to Barcelona in 1968 to research writing inspired by the 1868 Revolution and in 1970 he returned to help set up a group opposed to the Franco dictatorship. He lived in Barcelona for 10 years after retiring from his post as Director of the British Centre for Literary Translation in 2003. An award-winning literary translator, he has translated over seventy books from Catalan, French, Portuguese and Spanish: modern classics like Mercè Rodoreda's In Diamond Square or Valle-Inclán's Tyrant Banderas and work by living authors like Jorge Carrión's Bookshops and Najat el Hachmi's The Last Patriarch.