The Time of Cherries

Translated for the first time into English, this richly textured novel by “the shining light of Catalan literature” (Colm Tóibín), follows one young woman’s homecoming, as she navigates love, friendship, ambition and betrayal in a Barcelona on the brink of revolution—with an introduction by Colm Tóibín.

“An exquisite portrait of old Catalonia meeting its newer version, now nimbly translated by Julia Sanches.“—Times Literary Supplement

Spring, 1974. After twelve years abroad, Natàlia Miralpeix returns to live near her family in Barcelona. Change is in the air: revolution—sexual, political and artistic—is simmering. Franco may still be in power, but his death is only two years away. The younger generation write poetry, listen to Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, and talk of a freer future. But Natàlia’s parents still carry the hidden wounds of the Civil War. As their pasts, colored by unfulfilled ambitious and thwarted dreams, slowly begin to unravel, so, too, does Natàlia’s startling secret—the reason she’d left Barcelona all those years ago. 

A heady, captivating Barcelona comes to life—a city as smoky, gritty and troubled, as it is romantic and sun-kissed. Translated here for the first time into English, Montserrat Roig’s The Time of Cherries is a beloved classic of Catalan literature: a bold, glimmering, and startlingly timeless tale of a city and a people striving to leave the ghosts of the past behind and bring in the time of cherries—the springtime of joy.

Author Biography

Montserrat Roig (1946-1991) was an award-winning writer and journalist based on Barcelona, and the recipient of numerous prestigious prizes including the Premi Víctor Català and the Premi Sant Jordi. Her journalistic work focused on forging a creative feminist tradition, and on recovering the country’s political history. Her novels take similar stances, reflecting on the need to liberate women who were silenced by history.

Julia Sanches translates literature from Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan into English. She is a founding member of Cedilla & Co., a collective of translators committed to making international voices heard in English, and chair of the Translators Group of the Authors Guild. Sanches’ translation of Migratory Birds by Mariana Oliver won the PEN Translation Prize and her translation of Undiscovered by Gabriela Wiener was longlisted for the International Booker Prize.  Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Sanches currently resides in Providence, Rhode Island.