La gran família

Why some siblings are as different as chalk and cheese is a mystery science has yet to solve — which is where literature comes in. Antònia Carré-Pons’ new novel follows the life threads of Rateta and Sió, two sisters born in a butcher’s shop. Like a doll’s house, we watch them grow up between the rooftop where they imagine stories, the shop ruled by the matriarchs, and the basement where men butcher pigs and soak their aprons in blood. Blood that binds — whether it’s to make sausages or to tie you to a certain way of seeing the world.

Until Rateta breaks away from what was expected of her. She goes to university and becomes a renowned medievalist. Sió stays in the shop. And just when it seems life is pulling them apart for good, blood weaves them together again: the younger sister is about to die from the same illness the elder one survived —an illness that affects all the women in their family.

After shining in comedy, Carré-Pons has created a modern-day auca del senyor Esteve. In a concise and transparent language, she explores childhood emotions and their echoes in adulthood, with no trace of sentimentality and a deep devotion to the characters she brings to life.