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Obra completa (Destino) #1
The Gray Notebook
An NYRB Classics Original
Josep Pla’s masterpiece, The Gray Notebook, is one of the most colorful and unusual works in modern literature. In 1918, when Pla was in Barcelona studying law, the Spanish flu broke out, the university shut down, and he went home to his parents in coastal Palafrugell. Aspiring to be a writer, not a lawyer, he resolved to hone his style by keeping a journal. In it he wrote about his family, local characters, visits to cafés; the quips, quarrels, ambitions, and amours of his friends; writers he liked and writers he didn’t; and the long contemplative walks he would take in the countryside under magnificent skies. Returning to Barcelona to complete his studies, Pla kept up his diary, scrutinizing life in the big city with the same unflagging zest and humor.
Pla, one of the great Catalan writers, held on to this youthful journal for close to fifty years, reworking and adding to it, until he finally published The Gray Notebook as both the first volume and the capstone of his collected works. It is a beautiful, entrancing, delightful book—at once a distillation of the spirit of youth and the work of a lifetime.
Josep Pla’s masterpiece, The Gray Notebook, is one of the most colorful and unusual works in modern literature. In 1918, when Pla was in Barcelona studying law, the Spanish flu broke out, the university shut down, and he went home to his parents in coastal Palafrugell. Aspiring to be a writer, not a lawyer, he resolved to hone his style by keeping a journal. In it he wrote about his family, local characters, visits to cafés; the quips, quarrels, ambitions, and amours of his friends; writers he liked and writers he didn’t; and the long contemplative walks he would take in the countryside under magnificent skies. Returning to Barcelona to complete his studies, Pla kept up his diary, scrutinizing life in the big city with the same unflagging zest and humor.
Pla, one of the great Catalan writers, held on to this youthful journal for close to fifty years, reworking and adding to it, until he finally published The Gray Notebook as both the first volume and the capstone of his collected works. It is a beautiful, entrancing, delightful book—at once a distillation of the spirit of youth and the work of a lifetime.
638 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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2,839 people want to read
About the author
Josep Pla
220books110followersJosep Pla i Casadevall (known as José Pla in Spanish) (March 8, 1897, Palafrugell, Girona - April 23, 1981, Llofriu, Girona) was a Catalan journalist and a popular author. As a journalist he worked in France, Italy, England, Germany and Russia, from where he wrote political and cultural chronicles in Catalan.
The most important characteristics of the “planian� style are simplicity, irony, and clarity. His works show a subjective and colloquial view, “anti-literary�, in which he stresses, nevertheless, an enormous stylistic effort by calling things by their names and “coming up with the precise adjective�, one of his most persistent literary obsessions.
Pla lived completely dedicated to writing. The extent of his Obres Completes - Complete Works (46 volumes and nearly 40,000 pages), which is a collection of all his journals, reports, articles, essays, biographies and both long and short novels.
His liberal-conservative thought, skeptic and uncompromising, filled with irony and common sense, keeps sounding contemporary, completely current, even though it seems to contradict the current cultural establishment same as it did with its completely opposed antecessor. His books remain in print and both Spanish and Catalan critics have unanimously recognized him as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.
The most important characteristics of the “planian� style are simplicity, irony, and clarity. His works show a subjective and colloquial view, “anti-literary�, in which he stresses, nevertheless, an enormous stylistic effort by calling things by their names and “coming up with the precise adjective�, one of his most persistent literary obsessions.
Pla lived completely dedicated to writing. The extent of his Obres Completes - Complete Works (46 volumes and nearly 40,000 pages), which is a collection of all his journals, reports, articles, essays, biographies and both long and short novels.
His liberal-conservative thought, skeptic and uncompromising, filled with irony and common sense, keeps sounding contemporary, completely current, even though it seems to contradict the current cultural establishment same as it did with its completely opposed antecessor. His books remain in print and both Spanish and Catalan critics have unanimously recognized him as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
May 12, 2021
Pla nació viejo, con la boina calada y el cigarrillo de caldo entre los dedos. No es de extrañar, pues, las amistades que gustaba frecuentar ni las aficiones a las que se sentía inclinado o esa tendencia melancólica hacia el recuerdo que recorre estas páginas escritas cuando contaba poco más de 20 años, aunque revisadas mucho más tarde.
Pla es también un hedonista que, cómo Goethe, muy admirado por el autor, era proclive a evadir los partos de las amigas y las agonías y entierros de sus amigos. Un egoísta nauseabundo e infecto, por utilizar sus propias palabras, pero dotado de una aguda sensibilidad, capaz de llegar al éxtasis únicamente con el ligero sonido de las olas al alcanzar plácidamente la playa, o con el delicado aroma de las acacias en flor, o con el muslo de una señora visto al trasluz de una sedosa falda, o con la contemplación de la suave línea curvilínea que forman unas montañas lejanas, o saboreando las cerezas ligeramente picadas por algún pajarillo. Aunque quizá la palabra éxtasis sea demasiado feroz y exaltada para Pla, más inclinado a la digestión ligera a la sombra de las barcas o a saborear las pintorescas expresiones y conversaciones de sus paisanos, que son, para mí, lo mejor del libro.
Siendo unos diarios que ocupan más de 800 páginas, hay abundancia de temas, no todos del mismo interés, algunos carentes totalmente de él, pero todos tratados con una prosa elegante que permite sobrellevar razonablemente bien la personalidad del autor, no siempre simpática ni admirable, y resguardarnos convenientemente de todos esos vientos que soplan, ya sea el gregal, el siroco, el garbí o el terral.
September 21, 2021
A mesmerizingly good read. Honest, challenging, frustrating, and transformative. Hold on, are you up talking about someone’s diary?
Josep Pla begins writing on March 8, 1918 when they shut the university down in Barcelona because of the Spanish Influenza. He returns home to small town Palafrugell, in Cataluña. He was about to begin his last year of law when his world turned upside down. Sound relative?
The first thing is obvious. He is a poor, 21-year old student and he does rant about this. He suffers from drinking too much, gambling, smoking and carousing with his friends, but when it comes to love, alas, he has much to learn.
“The young ladies are inpenetrable, insoluble, impossible, unattainable, unapproachable, untouchable, intangible, and irreducible. Exhaustion kills enchantment and the time comes when you doubt they really exist.� (8 December 1918) A sad lament.
However, there is a lot that he does go on about and that is good for us, dear readers. During this time, Germany loses the war. Spain remained neutral although everyone took sides. And of course, the fight between communism, anarchism and capitalism was starting to appear everywhere, especially in Spain.
Above all, Pla is an observer of the human condition. The stories he tells of his friends, neighbours and well-known characters in the community show his growing talent as a writer. And this is the transformative part.
In 1919 he returns to his studies in Barcelona. He joins the Atheneum, a meeting place for artists and writers, he meets Dalmau, owner of the gallery and he hears of Juan Gris. Things are looking up. Then some advice from some of the members leads to a door opening for our young man. Journalism.
At the heart of the book is, literature. Throughout his connections he is thrust into a new movement, Noucentisme, a Catalan reaction against Modernism. This bodes well for us. At one point he rails against the novel. “Endings disappoint and are predictable.� Yet there was a certain writer that sparked interest in Barcelona, Marcel Proust.
Proust uses memory to recall, reinvent, return to what is essentially, a chronicle of the past (sure add in some fictitious characters). Can we call Proust’s work a diary? Maybe? Suddenly, Pla, who has been faithfully writing down his thoughts, images, and recollections of the past days events, has been thrust into the realm of Proust.
The transformation occurs when some of Pla’s short events are described as longer stories. The latter part of the diary of 1919 starts to evolve.
The most memorable is story is a night that Pla spent in Girona. He decided to catch the 6 am express to Barcelona, and in doing so, stayed up all night till the ticket booth opened at 5 am. He was a student and didn’t want to spend money on a hotel. He bumps into an old friend and another story evolves from their past, involving a trip to a brothel when they were 15. Now his friend is married. He finds a late night restaurant connected to a gambling house to find some food. Ah, the crazy days of youth!
At one point, Pla writes that we should take the time to read his diary. At first, this is good advice. Then as the stories evolve, we have no choice. And that is also the transformative part that is good for us. His stories grab us.
Pla is a both country and city person. His keen observations placed me right there in time and place. I learned a lot about Catalan life and people, not to mention the duality of these people living in Spain. French lifestyle was a huge influence. In short, a gratifying read.
I will leave you an entry, “Historians want us to believe that history is grand. The history we have lived and are now living isn’t at all; in fact, it is quite the contrary.� Some diaries need to be read.
Josep Pla begins writing on March 8, 1918 when they shut the university down in Barcelona because of the Spanish Influenza. He returns home to small town Palafrugell, in Cataluña. He was about to begin his last year of law when his world turned upside down. Sound relative?
The first thing is obvious. He is a poor, 21-year old student and he does rant about this. He suffers from drinking too much, gambling, smoking and carousing with his friends, but when it comes to love, alas, he has much to learn.
“The young ladies are inpenetrable, insoluble, impossible, unattainable, unapproachable, untouchable, intangible, and irreducible. Exhaustion kills enchantment and the time comes when you doubt they really exist.� (8 December 1918) A sad lament.
However, there is a lot that he does go on about and that is good for us, dear readers. During this time, Germany loses the war. Spain remained neutral although everyone took sides. And of course, the fight between communism, anarchism and capitalism was starting to appear everywhere, especially in Spain.
Above all, Pla is an observer of the human condition. The stories he tells of his friends, neighbours and well-known characters in the community show his growing talent as a writer. And this is the transformative part.
In 1919 he returns to his studies in Barcelona. He joins the Atheneum, a meeting place for artists and writers, he meets Dalmau, owner of the gallery and he hears of Juan Gris. Things are looking up. Then some advice from some of the members leads to a door opening for our young man. Journalism.
At the heart of the book is, literature. Throughout his connections he is thrust into a new movement, Noucentisme, a Catalan reaction against Modernism. This bodes well for us. At one point he rails against the novel. “Endings disappoint and are predictable.� Yet there was a certain writer that sparked interest in Barcelona, Marcel Proust.
Proust uses memory to recall, reinvent, return to what is essentially, a chronicle of the past (sure add in some fictitious characters). Can we call Proust’s work a diary? Maybe? Suddenly, Pla, who has been faithfully writing down his thoughts, images, and recollections of the past days events, has been thrust into the realm of Proust.
The transformation occurs when some of Pla’s short events are described as longer stories. The latter part of the diary of 1919 starts to evolve.
The most memorable is story is a night that Pla spent in Girona. He decided to catch the 6 am express to Barcelona, and in doing so, stayed up all night till the ticket booth opened at 5 am. He was a student and didn’t want to spend money on a hotel. He bumps into an old friend and another story evolves from their past, involving a trip to a brothel when they were 15. Now his friend is married. He finds a late night restaurant connected to a gambling house to find some food. Ah, the crazy days of youth!
At one point, Pla writes that we should take the time to read his diary. At first, this is good advice. Then as the stories evolve, we have no choice. And that is also the transformative part that is good for us. His stories grab us.
Pla is a both country and city person. His keen observations placed me right there in time and place. I learned a lot about Catalan life and people, not to mention the duality of these people living in Spain. French lifestyle was a huge influence. In short, a gratifying read.
I will leave you an entry, “Historians want us to believe that history is grand. The history we have lived and are now living isn’t at all; in fact, it is quite the contrary.� Some diaries need to be read.
August 11, 2016
Ostensibly a diary of a young man finishing, unwillingly and unhappily, his law degree and, more happily and enthusiastically, starting a career as a writer, Pla really worked on The Gray Notebook for over 40 years and only published in much later in life, reworked but not still in the form of a daily journal that makes it such an interesting and hard to explain work. What is best about it, I think, is a model for how a young writer should work on his or her craft. The journal is filled with wonderful descriptions of the beautiful landscapes of Catalonia, whether it is the mountain walks above the ocean or the sea ports filled with small fisherboats and the men who work them. It is about the food, the wind and weather, and the people who Pla meet and knew and talked to, both in his small hometown north of Barcelona, and the more sophisticated literary and political scene in the cafés and clubs of Barcelona. Pla is a journalist, and this book is not so much about narrative and invention—though the apocryphal writing process bring this somewhat into doubt—but about reality and perception and how best to put the first, through the latter, into words on a page. No mean feat. And something that every writer must both think about, and work hard on.
It has a touch of Proust to it, the remembrances of a youth long gone—though again, living on the page on specific dates and places—and how a young man turns these events into his image of the world and how he will be in it. And does Pla succeed in this? Very much so. Unlike Proust this book is not about how memories of events can turn into creative ideas and interpretations of what has happened and how it changed things, it is really meant to be a clear, precise, but also beautiful look at what the world is like. And what better world for a writer to describe than the world he knows best? His hometown, his family and friends, and the dinner he ate ever week. Of course part of the joy is that the Catalan culture seems to provide such charming examples of this, a culture and language that Pla is able to create out of very little while at the same time referring to a vast history and specific locations and motivations. The Gray Notebook is a book that encompasses a locale and a time and a place and a set of people, but done in such an inspired way that it can't help make the reader look at their own time and place and friends in a new and different way, a way that is because both more perceptive and also more creative, as one can only imagine how Pla would describe what is happening around you in his own words, or inspire you to do it yourself.
It has a touch of Proust to it, the remembrances of a youth long gone—though again, living on the page on specific dates and places—and how a young man turns these events into his image of the world and how he will be in it. And does Pla succeed in this? Very much so. Unlike Proust this book is not about how memories of events can turn into creative ideas and interpretations of what has happened and how it changed things, it is really meant to be a clear, precise, but also beautiful look at what the world is like. And what better world for a writer to describe than the world he knows best? His hometown, his family and friends, and the dinner he ate ever week. Of course part of the joy is that the Catalan culture seems to provide such charming examples of this, a culture and language that Pla is able to create out of very little while at the same time referring to a vast history and specific locations and motivations. The Gray Notebook is a book that encompasses a locale and a time and a place and a set of people, but done in such an inspired way that it can't help make the reader look at their own time and place and friends in a new and different way, a way that is because both more perceptive and also more creative, as one can only imagine how Pla would describe what is happening around you in his own words, or inspire you to do it yourself.
April 27, 2020
Not a journal per se, but more of a year and a half long literary exercise in which Pla is attempting to alter his prose style from a flourishing (or as Pla calls it, his noucentista) style to something more natural. To write as one speaks, as his buddy Plana describes it.
The observations tend to focus on literary topics and figures of the day (1919), but the highlights of the book are Pla's wonderful descriptions of Palafrugell and the neighboring villages of his hometown. Pla's observations are direct and often served with a side of dry witticism. There are long lulls at times, which is why I didn't give this thing a higher rating, but those lulls are not the reason it took me three weeks to read it. 'The Gray Notebook' just lends itself to being read piecemeal. I enjoyed reading it slowly and in short intervals. I recommend a similar approach for future readers.
Take the rating with a grain of salt. I think excellent is a fair description and there is something for everyone in here.
The observations tend to focus on literary topics and figures of the day (1919), but the highlights of the book are Pla's wonderful descriptions of Palafrugell and the neighboring villages of his hometown. Pla's observations are direct and often served with a side of dry witticism. There are long lulls at times, which is why I didn't give this thing a higher rating, but those lulls are not the reason it took me three weeks to read it. 'The Gray Notebook' just lends itself to being read piecemeal. I enjoyed reading it slowly and in short intervals. I recommend a similar approach for future readers.
Take the rating with a grain of salt. I think excellent is a fair description and there is something for everyone in here.
August 6, 2012
Ahir va recaure a les meves mans, vaig fullejar-lo i vaig constatar amb satisfacció que després de gairebé tres anys que fa que el vaig llegir encara el tinc ben present. És un dels meus llibres favorits i si no és el primer és per aquells capítols -pocs-, mes aviat filosòfics, en que Pla sembla voler emular als seus admirats Nietzsche, Proust o Goethe. En "El Q.G." hi trobo el Pla que realment m'agrada, el que m' invita constantment a llegir una plana més amb la confiança que hi trobaré un altre passatge genial, sigui descriptiu, irònic, anecdotari, biogràfic o tot a l'hora. Un d'aquells passatges que val la pena recordar, fotografiar o copiar i compartir. D'aquests passatges "El Q.G." n' és ple; no es presenten tant sovint com un voldria, però quan arriben són encara més apreciats. Aleshores tornes a llegir-lo, t'agradaria memoritzar-lo, fas una petita marca a la pagina, i deixes que t'envaeixi la satisfacció de saber que saps gaudir-ne.
February 3, 2021
In 1918 Josep Pla was a law student in Barcelona. The outbreak of the 1918 flu pandemic closed the university and confined Pla to his home in nearby Palafrugell. Wanting to become a writer, he began a journal in order to improve his writing. Some of his entries are meditative, some more portraiture of the colorful people he knew. Reading his entries one can see how his style evolved, how his observations became sharper. He returned to university and completed his studies but by then had decided he would enter journalism and went to work for the newspaper La Publicidad. They sent him to Paris as their correspondent at the end of The Gray Notebook, which is the 1st volume of a 45-volume work spanning his lifetime spent in and out of Spain and in many European capitals.
As I see it, the most important attribute of the book is as a portrait of his community and society. It becomes a gentle, leisurely read to enjoy his observations of a century ago because he has no ax to grind. He describes acquaintances, friends, family, and random encounters without agenda. And he genuinely takes pleasure in the landscapes and climate of his home. His reports of long walks can be busy with appraisals of those he meets and what he sees. But, to be honest, this is a huge book, and I'd grown kinda weary by the time I came to the last page when Pla was packing his huge suitcase for Paris.
As I see it, the most important attribute of the book is as a portrait of his community and society. It becomes a gentle, leisurely read to enjoy his observations of a century ago because he has no ax to grind. He describes acquaintances, friends, family, and random encounters without agenda. And he genuinely takes pleasure in the landscapes and climate of his home. His reports of long walks can be busy with appraisals of those he meets and what he sees. But, to be honest, this is a huge book, and I'd grown kinda weary by the time I came to the last page when Pla was packing his huge suitcase for Paris.
August 21, 2024
No puedo decir otra cosa que «gracias». Este diario me ha acompañado durante unos meses como un amigo bueno, y poco a poco (recomiendo la lectura lenta) he saboreado el Empordà, Barcelona y otros lugares cercanos en los años 1918 y 1919; sus paisajes, las gentes del país, los acontecimientos y las ideas que movían las tertulias y los hogares de la época, todo ello pasado por el filtro de Josep Pla, un auténtico escritor. No me entra en la cabeza que todo esto lo escribiera con 21 años, aunque lo revisase después, ya de mayor, en el «Mas». He tenido la suerte de terminarlo en la playa, con el mar Mediterráneo de fondo, que tanto dibujó con sus palabras. Desde la página 1 hasta la 840 ha sido un enorme placer. ¡¿Qué voy a hacer yo ahora?! Seguiré leyendo con cariño a Pla.
August 7, 2014
Josep Pla's notebooks, detailing his 19th and 20th years, might seem incredibly precocious, but the introduction tells us that he came back to them as a much older, more established writer, fixing them up for posterity. If you like straight-shooter writing, clean and clear like George Orwell's, this book might be up your alley.
The first half of this 600+ pager tells of Pla's return to his little rural town in coastal Palafrugell due to the spread of the Spanish Influenza in 1918. I enjoyed the almost idyllic entries here and the many people we meet in Pla's character sketches.
The second half of the book sees Pla back at university in Barcelona. This part was a bit less interesting, but the writing itself did not flag once.
Some of the sketches go longer than necessary, but others are enriched with great descriptive flourishes as well as Pla's opinions on contemporary philosophers, writers, and poets. He also offers plenty of views on human nature.
By the time it's all over, you will know Pla well. Very well.
The first half of this 600+ pager tells of Pla's return to his little rural town in coastal Palafrugell due to the spread of the Spanish Influenza in 1918. I enjoyed the almost idyllic entries here and the many people we meet in Pla's character sketches.
The second half of the book sees Pla back at university in Barcelona. This part was a bit less interesting, but the writing itself did not flag once.
Some of the sketches go longer than necessary, but others are enriched with great descriptive flourishes as well as Pla's opinions on contemporary philosophers, writers, and poets. He also offers plenty of views on human nature.
By the time it's all over, you will know Pla well. Very well.
October 8, 2017
El Cuarderno Gris es uno de esos libros que hay que ir leyendo a lo largo de un amplio espacio de tiempo. Es una lectura densa, lenta y muy personal. Es, en el fondo, un ejercicio literario de su autor, un diario, una crónica de la juventud de Pla y de la Barcelona de la época. Y como tal debe ser leído a pocos, para no sobrecargar, porque dejar de disfrutar este libro por puro empacho sería una pena.
Dice el propio Pla sobre el diario:
Y esto es tanto cierto sobre el propio libro como sobre la experiencia de leerlo. Es especialmente gratificante ir viendo la transformación de la narración, como el estilo madura, como cambia el propio propósito del diario. En mi caso concreto, tuve un comienzo bastante malo con el libro. No era exactamente lo que yo me esperaba y me resultaba muy cansado de leer; no me interesaba. Pero continué leyendo, un poquito cada par de días, intercalando otros libros, pasando a veces semanas seguidas sin tocarlo, hasta que eventualmente llegué a un punto donde al leerlo encontré un conexión con el joven Plan, con sus inquietudes, con su experiencia universitaria (triste constatar que algunas cosas no han cambiado un ápice desde 1919), con sus pequeños ejercicios literarios y con su sensibilidad estética.
He intentado encontrar la naturaleza exacta de El Cuaderno Gris , pero no he encontrado consenso. En la descripción por la que compré el libro daban a entender que se trataba de un diario auténtico de la época, en muchas otras ocasiones he leído que se trata de una obra basada en el diario que llevaba Pla en la época, algunos afirman que es una versión editada y retocada de ese dietario, etc. Sin embargo, en base a lo que he podido observar leyendo (y en base a lo que dice Santa Wikipedia) yo me quedo con esta última versión.
Por ponerle un par de pegas al libro diré que a veces las descripciones, tanto de escenarios como de personas, me sobrecargaban y hacían que perdiera la concentración de la lectura (aunque a veces la belleza y maestría de algunas descripciones me quitaban el hipo). También que hubo momentos en que me desesperaba con la “contemporaneidad�, con la retahíla de nombres, de personajes ilustres, de revistas y periódicos de la época, aunque, por otra parte, no se podría esperar menos de un diario, ¿verdad?
Esta ha sido la primera obra que he leído de Pla y no creo que sea la única. Ha sido toda una aventura que me ha dejado muchos momentos muy buenos y muchas ideas sobre las que reflexionar.
Dice el propio Pla sobre el diario:
Pero el caso es que este cuaderno, empezado frívolamente, se ha convertido para mí ineludiblemente en una necesidad íntima
Y esto es tanto cierto sobre el propio libro como sobre la experiencia de leerlo. Es especialmente gratificante ir viendo la transformación de la narración, como el estilo madura, como cambia el propio propósito del diario. En mi caso concreto, tuve un comienzo bastante malo con el libro. No era exactamente lo que yo me esperaba y me resultaba muy cansado de leer; no me interesaba. Pero continué leyendo, un poquito cada par de días, intercalando otros libros, pasando a veces semanas seguidas sin tocarlo, hasta que eventualmente llegué a un punto donde al leerlo encontré un conexión con el joven Plan, con sus inquietudes, con su experiencia universitaria (triste constatar que algunas cosas no han cambiado un ápice desde 1919), con sus pequeños ejercicios literarios y con su sensibilidad estética.
He intentado encontrar la naturaleza exacta de El Cuaderno Gris , pero no he encontrado consenso. En la descripción por la que compré el libro daban a entender que se trataba de un diario auténtico de la época, en muchas otras ocasiones he leído que se trata de una obra basada en el diario que llevaba Pla en la época, algunos afirman que es una versión editada y retocada de ese dietario, etc. Sin embargo, en base a lo que he podido observar leyendo (y en base a lo que dice Santa Wikipedia) yo me quedo con esta última versión.
Por ponerle un par de pegas al libro diré que a veces las descripciones, tanto de escenarios como de personas, me sobrecargaban y hacían que perdiera la concentración de la lectura (aunque a veces la belleza y maestría de algunas descripciones me quitaban el hipo). También que hubo momentos en que me desesperaba con la “contemporaneidad�, con la retahíla de nombres, de personajes ilustres, de revistas y periódicos de la época, aunque, por otra parte, no se podría esperar menos de un diario, ¿verdad?
Esta ha sido la primera obra que he leído de Pla y no creo que sea la única. Ha sido toda una aventura que me ha dejado muchos momentos muy buenos y muchas ideas sobre las que reflexionar.
August 27, 2023
Quina capacitat d'escriptura, de la Josep Pla! Quina delícia "El quadern gris". Sí, ja ho sé, ja. Hi vaig endarrerit, però mira, fins ara només havia llegit una part, una tria a càrrec de Josep Maria Castellet, però no el volum complet. Les quasi huit-centes pàgines (més la llarga introducció de Joan Fuster a l'obra completa) m'ho feien ajornar. Havia llegit les "Notes disperses" (el volum 12é de l'obra completa) i "Darrers escrits" (el 44é), a més d'altres llibres com "Madrid, l'adveniment de la República" i altres cròniques, però no "El quadern gris" de bat a bat. Potser tenia raó el senyor Pla quan va escriure que "Deixar una cosa per a demà és deixar-la per sempre més". Al meu cas, per fortuna, no ha estat així.
I he aprofitat l'agost per a fer-ho. Quina bona decisió! Us el recomane. Advertisc el lector que no el conega, que és un diari de 1918-1919. Tot i que el refeu més endavant, parla d'una societat, de la de l'Empordà i la de Barcelona de fa més d'un segle. Hi ha entrades que potser tenen poc interés temàtic per a un espectador del segle XXI. I, d'altra banda, que ningú espere trobar un escriptor progressista mínimament. Ell és un conservador des de jove. Però no és això. És com escriu! Deixeu-me aportar-ne un parell d'exemples:
"En tornar a casa contemplo una estona la lluna. Navega pel cel lleugerament tocada de boira fina en una suspensió inconsútil, dins d'una flonjor suavíssima. La llum i la boirina es fonen en una mena d'èxtasi silenciós i passiu".
"Ha fet un dia clar i una tarda dolça, que he vist morir darrera els vidres. Crepuscle de nuvolades fosques, sobre el blanc oxidat de la volta del cel, amb una mica de rosa i regalims morats a ponent".
En fi, si no ho heu fet encara, intenteu-ho. I, si ho heu fet, torneu a fer-ho. Ara mateix tinc ganes de començar-lo de nou.
#elsmeusllibres #llibresenvalencià #llibresencatalà
I he aprofitat l'agost per a fer-ho. Quina bona decisió! Us el recomane. Advertisc el lector que no el conega, que és un diari de 1918-1919. Tot i que el refeu més endavant, parla d'una societat, de la de l'Empordà i la de Barcelona de fa més d'un segle. Hi ha entrades que potser tenen poc interés temàtic per a un espectador del segle XXI. I, d'altra banda, que ningú espere trobar un escriptor progressista mínimament. Ell és un conservador des de jove. Però no és això. És com escriu! Deixeu-me aportar-ne un parell d'exemples:
"En tornar a casa contemplo una estona la lluna. Navega pel cel lleugerament tocada de boira fina en una suspensió inconsútil, dins d'una flonjor suavíssima. La llum i la boirina es fonen en una mena d'èxtasi silenciós i passiu".
"Ha fet un dia clar i una tarda dolça, que he vist morir darrera els vidres. Crepuscle de nuvolades fosques, sobre el blanc oxidat de la volta del cel, amb una mica de rosa i regalims morats a ponent".
En fi, si no ho heu fet encara, intenteu-ho. I, si ho heu fet, torneu a fer-ho. Ara mateix tinc ganes de començar-lo de nou.
#elsmeusllibres #llibresenvalencià #llibresencatalà
March 29, 2022
Quina música més dolça, la d’aquesta prosa. No ha estat gens com me l’imaginava. L’escriptura de Pla és tímida, d’home irònic, que va fent bromes perquè té, com tots els tímids, una por profunda de no merèixer la nostra atenció. Alguns dels paràgrafs-brometa se’ls podria haver estalviat, si tingués més autoestima (però ell mateix ens recorda constantment, d’una manera adorable, que no en té massa). M’han interessat especialment els passatges dedicats a la literatura (i combrego amb moltes de les seves idees, encara que ataqui les novel·les i jo en faci) i a la timidesa. Respecte això segon, m’he trobat reflectit en tantes petites coses. Es fa estimar. Tot li fa una mica de por, i em sembla que això, escrivint, el fa valent. Crec que ell mateix no és conscient de fins a quin punt invoca la compassió com a mecanisme de seducció amb el lector. Però és que a més hi ha una meta-timidesa: les idees bones, tot sovint, son posades en boca d’algú altre (això ja ho havia notat en els seus èmuls, en qui em semblava més sovint un gest covard que humil).
He anat de menys a més, i fa l’efecte que ell també, a mesura que va educant la sensibilitat. En un punt diu que aquest quadern “ha esdevingut una inescamotejable necessitat íntima� i que ja no s’ha de poder llegir “plana sí plana no�. Em temo que jo m’he saltat alguns passatges, però li compro que, a partir de cert punt, està edificant alguna cosa, està florint com a escriptor. Què més n’he de llegir, ara?
He anat de menys a més, i fa l’efecte que ell també, a mesura que va educant la sensibilitat. En un punt diu que aquest quadern “ha esdevingut una inescamotejable necessitat íntima� i que ja no s’ha de poder llegir “plana sí plana no�. Em temo que jo m’he saltat alguns passatges, però li compro que, a partir de cert punt, està edificant alguna cosa, està florint com a escriptor. Què més n’he de llegir, ara?
November 2, 2020
Crec que la millor forma de resumir les meues impressions sobre "El quadern gris" és aquell recurs massa obvi i un tant pueril que diu: "és que hi és tot, aquí". Però és que, efectivament, sembla que hom pot trobar tot el que cal trobar en el dietari del català. En el meu cas, coneixia per altres escrits el Pla més relator, més descriptiu: el mirall capaç de reflectir la idiosincràsia i els detalls d'allò humà i natural i traduir-ho a la forma literària. "El quadern gris" disposa, sens dubte, de centenars d'aquests moments: l'entorn mariner de Palafrugell, les dispeses i els cafès de la Barcelona més noucentista, els vells carrers gironins sota la pluja... Res sembla esmunyir-se de la memòria del prosista més cèlebre en llengua catalana del segle XX. Emperò el diari que ens ocupa esdevé molt més: proporciona també al lector un ventall amplíssim de reflexions sobre filosofia, literatura, periodisme o educació, per anomenar unes poques branques del coneixement de què Pla opina des d'una perspectiva humil, però tan completa que fa difícil de creure que comptés vint-i-un anys (21!!) en redactar "El quadern gris". Magnífic, universal, inabastable - per intentar l'adjectivació precisa, tan pròpia del llenguatge de Josep Pla. Una autèntica obra mestra.
April 4, 2020
M'ha agradat submergir-me en un gran relat d'una època nova per mi (1918-1919), i poder veure-ho amb els ulls d'un jove observador. M'han agradat molt les descripcions de Palafrugell i de tot l'Empordà, i quan acabi el confinament serà el primer lloc on aniré per revisitar-ho amb nova curiositat. A més, he empatitzat amb moltes de les reflexions de Pla, sobretot les fetes des d'un paper envers la vida semblant al d'un espectador de luxe.
Ara bé, el llibre es fa feixuc en molts trams. Abunden descripcions que al principi s'agraeixen però més tard són totalment repetitives i irrellevants. Molts dels dies del dietari es limiten a parlar extensament de personatges de l'època que no coneixes i que tampoc coneixeràs mai, tret d'algun cas que et porta a les classes de literatura catalana de l'escola (Xènius, Pujols, Sagarra, etc.). Però en general ha valgut la pena ser pacient perquè de tant en tant es troben passatges que són perles:
"La creença individual en la permanència física en aquesta terra és el motor de les accions dels homes i de les dones... Sense la creença que no morirem mai, ¿què hi hauria en aquest món? Hi hauria una vida àtona, passiva, incerta. En virtut d’aquesta il·lusió, l’home emprèn les més grans absurditats, les més enormes i doloroses empreses."
"Foren feliços, ¿quin dubte hi ha? La fortalesa última dels matrimonis, en els casos de persones normals, depèn de l’abundància de coses que es tenen per enraonar."
"El cultiu de la capacitat d’oblit crec que és una cosa excel·lent per saber viure."
Ara bé, el llibre es fa feixuc en molts trams. Abunden descripcions que al principi s'agraeixen però més tard són totalment repetitives i irrellevants. Molts dels dies del dietari es limiten a parlar extensament de personatges de l'època que no coneixes i que tampoc coneixeràs mai, tret d'algun cas que et porta a les classes de literatura catalana de l'escola (Xènius, Pujols, Sagarra, etc.). Però en general ha valgut la pena ser pacient perquè de tant en tant es troben passatges que són perles:
"La creença individual en la permanència física en aquesta terra és el motor de les accions dels homes i de les dones... Sense la creença que no morirem mai, ¿què hi hauria en aquest món? Hi hauria una vida àtona, passiva, incerta. En virtut d’aquesta il·lusió, l’home emprèn les més grans absurditats, les més enormes i doloroses empreses."
"Foren feliços, ¿quin dubte hi ha? La fortalesa última dels matrimonis, en els casos de persones normals, depèn de l’abundància de coses que es tenen per enraonar."
"El cultiu de la capacitat d’oblit crec que és una cosa excel·lent per saber viure."
Read
June 29, 2016man, I hate writing negative reviews, it's tiring and it makes me feel nasty, even though the last three authors are long dead. Pla, apparently a giant of Catalonian literature, kept an intricate journal of the 22nd year of his life, writing down his experiences when an Influenza plague forced him to leave Barcelona for his small coastal village, as well as his time as a law student once the disease subsided. There is no plot to speak of, and nothing really happens, and that's a tough task to set oneself, and to surmount it one would need to be an excessively brilliant writer, and I didn't quite feel that Pla meets this high bar. For every bit that was funny, or engaging, or lovely sounding, there is a lot of gossip and X and things that I had no particular interest in. In fairness, at one point towards the end of the book Pla goes on a long soliloquy requesting that any theoretical readers consume the Gray Notebook in the same fashion which Pla created it, that is to say, in small bursts and over the course of months and even years. Not having abiding by his request, it may well be illegitimate for me to criticize it. I'd check something else out by him at some point in the future.
May 5, 2021
Pla is a mesmerizing landscape painter of words.
January 28, 2015
here is a very good review about this book /review/show...
here's my poor one
set in 1918-19 in palafrugell, giron, barcelona young man's literary diary of chillin' and "studying" for a year back home at his family place on the coast, due to university closing because of spanish flu outbreak (people were dropping like flies, even in his rural, isolated area, to say nothing of the disaster in the cities) so he writes about his days and nights there. eventually the university re-opens and he and his brother move back to Barcelona to continue studying law. he eventually gets a degree in law and forthwith gets a job for the newspaper and moves to paris, for the rest of his life.
a wonderful trip for the reader, this year or so in cataluna, going to the library, cafes and bars, walking on the mountain and all the barrios and rambla, going to classes, getting in a tertulia of smart funny friends, visiting home and lounging and longing on the beaches, vineyards and hills, re-visiting his old haunts in girona, a young man's life.
here's my poor one
set in 1918-19 in palafrugell, giron, barcelona young man's literary diary of chillin' and "studying" for a year back home at his family place on the coast, due to university closing because of spanish flu outbreak (people were dropping like flies, even in his rural, isolated area, to say nothing of the disaster in the cities) so he writes about his days and nights there. eventually the university re-opens and he and his brother move back to Barcelona to continue studying law. he eventually gets a degree in law and forthwith gets a job for the newspaper and moves to paris, for the rest of his life.
a wonderful trip for the reader, this year or so in cataluna, going to the library, cafes and bars, walking on the mountain and all the barrios and rambla, going to classes, getting in a tertulia of smart funny friends, visiting home and lounging and longing on the beaches, vineyards and hills, re-visiting his old haunts in girona, a young man's life.
January 26, 2025
El llenguatge de Pla és, dit amb la redundància que s'espera d'aquests jocs puerils del llenguatge, ben pla. La seva capacitat expressiva, però, destaca des de les primeres línies.
En un moment del quadern, Pla escriu: "És molt més difícil descriure que opinar. Infinitament més. En vista de la qual cosa tothom opina". I és ben cert. La seva capacitat per descriure és inesgotable, d'una parsimònia envejable.
Diuen que aquesta és (si no la que més) una de les més aconseguides manifestacions de la prosa en català del s. XX. Diu molt dels catalans que no sigui una obra de ficció. Al meu país, terra de comerciants i de pagar-ho tot al comptat, fer volar el cap amb fantasies és vist com una cosa pròpia del boig més estintolat imaginable. Això ens ha convertit en grans poetes (ja se sap, des de Pessoa, que el poeta fingeix el que de veritat sent), però en paupèrrims novel·listes. Pla aconsegueix superar aquestes trivialitats i converteix el català en una llengua digna de ser llegida, encara que parli de "cosetes". Són cosetes, sí. Però quines cosetes, coi!
En un moment del quadern, Pla escriu: "És molt més difícil descriure que opinar. Infinitament més. En vista de la qual cosa tothom opina". I és ben cert. La seva capacitat per descriure és inesgotable, d'una parsimònia envejable.
Diuen que aquesta és (si no la que més) una de les més aconseguides manifestacions de la prosa en català del s. XX. Diu molt dels catalans que no sigui una obra de ficció. Al meu país, terra de comerciants i de pagar-ho tot al comptat, fer volar el cap amb fantasies és vist com una cosa pròpia del boig més estintolat imaginable. Això ens ha convertit en grans poetes (ja se sap, des de Pessoa, que el poeta fingeix el que de veritat sent), però en paupèrrims novel·listes. Pla aconsegueix superar aquestes trivialitats i converteix el català en una llengua digna de ser llegida, encara que parli de "cosetes". Són cosetes, sí. Però quines cosetes, coi!
September 3, 2014
Uno de los mejores libros que he leído nunca, escritos con una sensibilidad y una inteligencia fuera de lo normal si tenemos en cuenta lo joven que era Pla cuando lo escribió. Profundamente humano, sincero, con unos toques de humor que me han ganado, El cuaderno gris es uno de los títulos que todo lector debería tener en un lugar de honor en su biblioteca
August 22, 2018
Quan el vaig agafar per primera vegada fa uns quants anys, em va caure de les mans abans de la pàgina 200. En canvi, ara, he gaudit com un camell
January 1, 2024
Josep Pla es desbordante, inmenso, inabarcable, inasible, vertiginoso, majestuoso y divino.
De una prosa precisa, certera y acertada. Dónde Josep Pla pone un punto o una coma no cabe discusión.
En una de sus páginas Josep Pla le pide al lector degustar del libro poco a poco, como por sorbos.
Y dada la naturaleza misma del libro, su lectura se me prolongó por muchísimo tiempo, de modo que lo leí tal como a él le hubiese gustado. Comencé a leerlo a inicios de este año y recién lo terminé a mediados de diciembre. Con pocos libros he disfrutado y aprendido como lo hice con este, mi cariño por Josep Pla es infinito.
Hay autores por los cuales uno tiene una especial debilidad, en mi caso es el ilustrisimo Josep Pla.
Decía Borges en su entrevista con Soler Serrano que la amistad no precisa frecuentación ni confidencias. Lo cual es interesante, porque si en la amistad no hace falta frecuencia ni confidencia, ¿Qué sostiene entonces la relación?, pues lo hace la Afinidad.
Así pues, mi amistad con Josep Pla es de esas que se suelen de calificar como trascendentales en tiempo y espacio. Así lo que me une en una amistad con Josep Pla es la complicidad y la Afinidad en tantas cosas.
De una prosa precisa, certera y acertada. Dónde Josep Pla pone un punto o una coma no cabe discusión.
En una de sus páginas Josep Pla le pide al lector degustar del libro poco a poco, como por sorbos.
Y dada la naturaleza misma del libro, su lectura se me prolongó por muchísimo tiempo, de modo que lo leí tal como a él le hubiese gustado. Comencé a leerlo a inicios de este año y recién lo terminé a mediados de diciembre. Con pocos libros he disfrutado y aprendido como lo hice con este, mi cariño por Josep Pla es infinito.
Hay autores por los cuales uno tiene una especial debilidad, en mi caso es el ilustrisimo Josep Pla.
Decía Borges en su entrevista con Soler Serrano que la amistad no precisa frecuentación ni confidencias. Lo cual es interesante, porque si en la amistad no hace falta frecuencia ni confidencia, ¿Qué sostiene entonces la relación?, pues lo hace la Afinidad.
Así pues, mi amistad con Josep Pla es de esas que se suelen de calificar como trascendentales en tiempo y espacio. Así lo que me une en una amistad con Josep Pla es la complicidad y la Afinidad en tantas cosas.
December 10, 2024
Pla 🤍 guardo aquí mis frases favoritas sobre cómo encuentra su estilo.
Estos papeles me sirven para aprender a escribir. No para aprender a escribir bien, sino simplemente para aprender a escribir. Implican un enorme, continuado ejercicio, no recompensado pero limpio.
*
Te has de separar de la retórica, del preciosismo, del refinamiento, de las palabras, de la literatura diferente... Cuando lees lo que has escrito no te gusta ni a ti mismo. […] No escribas pensando en lo que has leído: escribe con tu temperamento.
*
- Tiene un defecto, claro: está un poco cargado de literatura. Los adjetivos son rebuscados, la frase es poco natural, la preocupación de la originalidad es demasiado visible. Pero ¿qué quieres hacerle? Es el defecto de la edad. El mejor estilo es el de las cartas a la familia, pero sin el exceso de abandono que suelen tener estas cartas.
- ¿Qué se tiene que hacer para escribir así?
- Desprenderse de muchas pequeñas obsesiones literarias, completamente tontas. A ti te gusta Girona. Como tema literario es fabuloso, prodigioso. Escribe sobre Girona pero sin retórica, de una manera directa. La cuestión es mirar las cosas, mirarlas bien, observarlas y después escribirlas.
*
Este papelorio está escrito en un estilo demasiado natural y abandonado, pero como en cuanto me pongo a escribir algo para publicar tiendo, por el complejo de timidez, a escribir pretenciosamente, oscuro y pedante, las líneas que escribo aquí cada día me resultan tan vitalmente necesarias como el respirar.
April 15, 2023
Imprescindible
May 14, 2021
La turra que suposa llegir-lo és proporcional a la bellesa del conjunt. No es pot escriure millor, no viuras els anys de la pre-guerra amb tant cotidianitat com llegint el quadern gris. Però és un pal pels que, de moment, hem vingut aquí a passar-nos-ho bé i no a il.lustrar-nos
February 16, 2015
Es un libro para degustar con calma, para hacer disfrutar el paladar literario con esplendorosas y lúcidas descripciones, dónde lo que se cuenta tiene apenas importancia en comparación de cómo se cuenta. Entiendo que esto puede alejar a muchos de su lectura, a pesar de su innegable calidad, pero debo reconocer que me agrada leer cosas así de vez en cuando, especialmente a modo de descanso, entretenimiento o interludio entre otros libros -para descansar un poco el cerebro y dedicarse a disfrutar con la maestría estilística del autor-. Este libro, al estar dividido en entradas de diario, resulta ideal para ello.
El resto de la crítica aquí ;)
El resto de la crítica aquí ;)
February 20, 2021
Feliç d'haver-se enfrontat a aquesta obra meravellosa de Josep Pla. Un diari de joventut, des el 8 de Març de 1919 (amb Europa sortint de la primera guerra mundial i en plena Grip Espanyola), fins al 15 de novembre de 1919. Un llibre inclassificable, modern i ple de referències quotidianes, polítiques i culturals que ens transporta i ens connecta amb la societat de principis de segle XX. Un plaer per gaudir a glops i tornar en els moments de pluja i vent gregal.
April 15, 2022
Em falten adjectius per valorar aquest llibre com es mereix. De les millors lectures de la meva vida. Un llibre per llegir i rellegir sempre. Un company de viatge ple de frases que són joies. Lúcid, literari, costumista. Veiem el món amb el ulls de l’autor i res del que diu deixa indiferent al lector. Les descripcions són brutals, d’un detall de filigrana. Un geni.
August 6, 2011
Meticuloso, a veces en exceso, en las descripciones del día a día. Con grandes momentos, empero.
February 18, 2017
I'm not sure whether to compare this book to Boswell's "Life of Samuel Johnson" or Anthony Bourdain's 248 entertaining round-the-world visits eating food in unlikely spots. In any event it is 638 pages I am glad to finish. This journal by Pla was written in 1918-1919 while he was in law school and after. He also went back to the journal in his 60s and rewrote parts before publication. In 1918,the first year, the university is closed due to influenza, and he writes about each person in his small hometown of Palafrugell, Spain. You're immediately struck by how much spare time people had a century ago. Pla would spend all day in a cafe or walking by the sea with friends...most days. When he went back to the university in Barcelona, he seems to do the same. You do learn how people talk, how they think, their daily lives and habits. College was boring in spots (bad professors), things ran amuck, money was scarce (but still he spent most days on the town), and eventually he graduates, but then can't afford the diploma. He decides to become a journalist instead of a lawyer and the book ends as he gets his first good job in Paris. Apparently a classic since so few writers have written in the Catalonian language.
March 19, 2022
Prosa muy bien redactada.
January 14, 2024
Pla volia deixar el testimoni d'una època i va aconseguir sobtadament.
Escrivia tal com parlava, les entrevistes d'ell que es conserven podrien ben ser una segona part de El quadern gris.
Escrivia tal com parlava, les entrevistes d'ell que es conserven podrien ben ser una segona part de El quadern gris.
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