When I Sing, Mountains Dance
£7.60£9.50 (-20%)
“Solà pushes past the limits of human experience to tell a story of instinct and earth-time that is irresistible in its jagged glory.” – C Pam Zhang, author of How Much of These Hills is Gold
When Domenec – mountain-dweller, father, poet, dreamer – dies suddenly, struck by lightning, he leaves behind two small children, Mia and Hilari, to grow up wild among the looming summits of the Pyrenees and the ghosts of the Spanish civil war.
But then Hilari dies too, and his sister is forced to face life’s struggles and joys alone. As the years tumble by, the inhabitants of the mountain – human, animal and other – come together in a chorus of voices to bear witness to the sorrows of one family, and to the savage beauty of the landscape. This remarkable English-language debut is lyrical, mythical, elemental, and ferociously imaginative.
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by Catherine de Veuve
Have not encountered this author before, but am a fan of Max Porter and I saw a recommendation from him, so guessed it could be my type of writing. This is a really lovely book, with language use that makes you catch your breath (unlike mine) and an anti narrative anti linear form which leaves you unable to get swept up in the book, so you’re always having to give as much as you take when reading. I found myself being constantly surprized by the book, which allows no room for passive immersion as every chapter catches you out and fills you with reflection and wonder. This book reminded me a bit of reading Virginia Wolf, as every single word seemed to be chosen specifically for a purpose, and each phrase managed to evoke the senses and conjure up meaning without any overwrought language or heavy handed description or metaphor. There was not one clumsy sentence in the book. A book that I suspect I’ll read many times. Can’t wait to get a copy for my daughter. Can’t wait to see what Sola does next.
by Mr. M. Hodgson
Interesting reading, and the exploration of the relationship of the human spirit to natural world.
by Andrea
What a beautiful, unusual book! It follows the lives of a family living in the Pyrenees mountains and looks at how nature, people, myth, history and the environment connect. It’s all about love and wildness. The chapters are told by different narrators – people, dogs, mushrooms, ghosts, witches and lightning! Yes, everything has a voice.
It draws you in wonderfully – you just have to engage. The prose is poetic, lyrical with marvellous descriptions and a dose of magical realism.
Stunning, haunting and timeless.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. All views are my own.
by Haunted Nostril
Language is handled in the rawest, earthiest and most impactful manner throughout this incredible book. At times its disorientating, at other’s its warm and familiar, then jarring and frank. There were moments the story felt as though it was careening off the page: as if it’s almost coming apart as you’re slung from perspective to perspective and body to body, but come the end the circle is complete. It’s hard to describe. The closest experience I’ve had to reading this was Danielewski’s House of Leaves, but Sola’s book is infinately more haunting – less verbose and gimmicky, but without losing any of the magic and intrigue. It’s almost a ritual in written form. The best book I’ve read in along time. Thanks to the author.
by Robert Hughes
This is a mythical and haunting tale, that uses folklore and the natural world to build something beautiful and unsettling.
Deceptively short, this book is a breathless ride through a small group of characters whose identities feel both tied to and separate from the land, and it was a strangely affecting book that I devoured in one long commute.
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
by J B
A wonderful novel that weaves together a tale told from a bizarre and fantastic range of perspectives.
by Stephanie Jane (Literary Flits)
When I Sing, Mountains Dance is such a stunning novel. I really had no idea what to expect from Irene Solà’s writing and soon found myself utterly captivated. Centering on multiple generations of one Pyrenees family, the story is much more than simply a historical saga although that is its heart. Solà switches narrators between members of the family, neighbours and friends, animals and even the Pyrenees mountain range itself which sounds bizarre, but works beautifully to give a novel that is easily as much about its remote location as it is about its characters. Having, over the past decade, spent several winters in Catalonia I could empathise with elements such as emotional reactions at the sight of the dramatic Canigó mountain top, and remember walking dusty hill paths under scented pine trees.
Each chapter is written in the first person, frequently with a kind of stream-of-consciousness flow which might not appeal to all readers, but which I felt allowed me to fully inhabit each speaking entity in turn. The narrative switches about in time, winding back and forth like the hidden river which is often mentioned, so the full sense of its storyline isn’t complete until the book ends, but with each new voice I filled in more detail of this incredible tale. I loved seeing how earlier actions and events impacted upon later generations and magical realism elements give the novel an otherworldly atmosphere. When I Sing, Mountains Dance is not an easy read and I needed to make sure I remained focused, but it is an amazing achievement. Every page was a pleasure to read.