In Lethem’s witty translation from Catalan, the 11 stories [of Come On Up] are heartbreaking and hilarious, tender and violent.
Come On Up
What happens when the hopes of a generation are dashed by austerity policies and underemployment? Come On Up is a group portrait of contemporary Barcelona, beaten by the economic crisis and divided by a secessionist movement. Always witty, often absurdist, these stories offer a mesmerizing glimpse into the daily lives of couples, families, and neighbors living the new normal of the 21st century.
A husband seeks revenge on his wife as they stalk author Peter Stamm; an out-of-work bartender fills his empty days by shoving bananas into the tailpipes of parked cars; a mysterious ritual, spied through a neighbor’s window, arouses deadly spirits. Masterfully paced, the eleven mordant stories of Come On Up draw us into an embattled world whose past is unresolved and whose future is uncertain.
Come On Up is translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem.
Documenta Prize Winner
Big Other Book Award Finalist
Bookshop.org “New Releases” selection
Powell’s Books “Must-Read Short Story Collection” & “New Literature in Translation” selections
Symposium Books “New Releases” selection
Paperback
- ISBN
- 9781942658801
Ebook
- ISBN
- 9781942658818
Watch Jordi Nopca in conversation about Come On Up at the PEN World Voices festival and Toronto Public Library.
Watch translator Mara Faye Lethem read from Come On Up for the Big Other Book Awards.
Jordi Nopca is the author of two novels and the short story collection Come On Up. Named a “Young Catalan Writer to Watch” by Culture Trip, his books have received the Proa and Documenta Prizes. Nopca is also an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in Time Out Barcelona and Words Without Borders. Based in Barcelona, Nopca is editor of the newspaper Ara and its literary supplement Ara Llegim. Come On Up is his first book of fiction to appear in English.
visit author page »Praise for Come On Up
Delightfully witty, insightful, and masterfully told.
— Booklist
These short stories chronicle the romantic, intellectual, and economic frustrations of disparate characters. . . . From intellectual satire to slapstick comedy, [Come On Up] covers plenty of emotional terrain.
— Kirkus Reviews
All of the stories make noise, and some of them really take off.
— Publishers Weekly
Jordi Nopca’s stories, written with clarity and flair, are smart and modern, filled with sharply observed detail. They capture the unease of the times and the flux of contemporary life in Barcelona with wit, wisdom, moments of pure hilarity, and a mixture of sympathy and dark laughter.
— Colm Tóibín, author of Brooklyn and House of Names
The day will come when there’ll be no need to keep repeating how Nopca’s talent and his corrosive humor have exploded and electrified the literature of Spain: it will be common knowledge.
— Enrique Vila-Matas, author of Bartleby & Co. and Mac’s Problem
Wry yet tender, Nopca’s stories are a chronicle of the sentimental and existential doubts of Barcelona’s struggling younger generation—just trust me: read them.
— Jordi Puntí, author of Lost Luggage and This Is Not America
A set of eleven stories from Catalan author Jordi Nopca, Come On Up is a solid collection of short fiction centered amidst our modern moment of frustrated ambitions, declining opportunity, and the 21st century paradox of unlimited choices and meaningless decisions. Nopca’s tales, situated in his hometown Barcelona, focus mostly on couples and interpersonal relationships, many with a deliciously absurdist bent. A caustic, sly humor and sardonic social malaise pervade Come On Up, but never in a disaffected, indifferent way—on the contrary, there’s a liveliness to all the listlessness. Also an award-winning journalist, Nopca’s storytelling and sharp wit are each remarkably entertaining. Come On Up employs a verve that is simultaneously of the times and contrary to its darker, deleterious impulses.
— Jeremy Garber, Powell’s Books (Portland, OR)