Paulina Buxareu (Les Eines de butxaca)

by Josep Maria de Sagarra

Text: Catalan

234 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1919

About the author

Josep Maria de Sagarra (Barcelona, 1894-1961) was a playwright, journalist, memoirs writer, translator and, above all, poet.

His vivid, rich use of language, his use of highly expressive rhetorical devices and, in particular, his aim of diverting or moving the reader and spectator brought him an enthusiastic reading public and theatre audiences and he was rewarded by such resounding successes as La corona d'espines (The Crown of Thorns – 1930), L'Hostal de la Glòria (Glòria's Hostel – 1931), El Cafè de la Marina (The Seaside Café – 1933) and La Rambla de les floristes (The Rambla of Florists – 1935). Notable among his poetic works are Cançons de rem i de vela (Songs of the Oar and the Sail – 1923), El comte Arnau (Count Arnau – 1928) and El poema de Nadal (Christmas Poem – 1931). His novel Vida privada (Private Life – 1932) is deemed to be the quintessential Barcelona novel.

He wrote assiduously for the press and eventually published some of these writings collected in two volumes, Cafè, copa i puro (Coffee, Drink and Cigar – 1929) and L'aperititu (Aperitif – 1937). In 1938, he went to live in France where he was mainly working on his translation of the Divina Commedia. On his return to Catalonia in 1940, he joined clandestine literary circles and, with the help of various patrons, he finished his translation of Dante, translated Shakespeare's plays and wrote his highly readable and extensive Memòries (Memoirs – 1954). A considerable part of his oeuvre has been translated into other languages and some of his works have been made into films or television productions.

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Josep Maria de Sagarra (Barcelona, 1894-1961). Poeta, dramaturg, periodista, novel·lista, memorialista i traductor.

La utilització d'una llengua viva i rica, l'ús de recursos retòrics d'una gran plasticitat, i sobretot, la intenció de distreure o commoure el lector o l'espectador, el connecten amb el públic i el lector popular i és recompensat amb èxits teatrals clamorosos, com La corona d'espines (1930), L'Hostal de la Glòria (1931), El Cafè de la Marina (1933) o La Rambla de les floristes (1935). En el camp de la poesia cal destacar Cançons de rem i de vela (1923), El comte Arnau (1928) i El poema de Nadal (1931). La novel·la Vida privada (1932) és considerada la novel·la emblemàtica de Barcelona.

Col·labora amb assiduïtat a la premsa i aplega algunes d'aquestes col·laboracions en dos volums: Cafè, copa i puro (1929) i L'aperititu (1937). El 1938 s'estableix a França on es dedica, fonamentalment, a la traducció de la Divina Comèdia. El 1940, de retorn a Catalunya, s'incorpora a la vida literària clandestina i, amb l'ajut d'alguns mecenes, enllesteix la traducció de Dante, tradueix el teatre de Shakespeare i escriu unes amenes i extenses Memòries (1954). Una bona part de les seves obres es tradueixen a diverses llengües i algunes es duen al cinema i la televisió.

Reviews

[Paul Sánchez Keighley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well that was a fun little romp that for a moment looked like it would be going to some interesting places only to end up being rather inane. It's so disappointing when a book's resolution is less exciting than what its red herrings led you to expect.

This is the life story of Paulina Buxareu, a romantic daughter of the upper classes who, after the death of her first short-lived love, embraces the role of bereft maiden and reinvents herself as an expert on the “female soul”. She then spends her youth matchmaking and orchestrating the lives of all those around her, until carving herself a place in society as an eccentric albeit revered 30-year-old virgin.

Reading these old comedies is like seeing how far back you can recline on the hind legs of a chair until experiencing a lurch followed by a spell of heart-stopping vertigo before thrusting yourself back to the safety of the conventional sitting position.

Sagarra spends the entire novel threatening to throw some serious spanners into the works of social order and yet chooses to end it with propriety being reestablished, not leaving as much as a feather askew on the plumage of society, making this yet another nauseating example of what passed for risqué entertainment amongst Barcelona’s upper classes in the early 20th century.

This was Sagarra’s first novel and it shows how his knack for creating wonderful characters and memorable set-pieces was indeed precocious. That said, there is a hint of snark to the writing when describing Paulina Buxareu which I didn’t care for too much. Clearly she’s a character Barcelona’s bourgeoisie were meant to find hilarious and many comments about her status as a self-made spinster haven’t aged all that well.

So of course this here is very different from the darker, more cynical Sagarra who 13 years later would publish Vida Privada , a no-holds-barred portrait of the decline and ultimate assimilation into the middle classes of Barcelona's aristocracy - and one of my all-time favourite novels. Read that, it’s great. This was alright.

[Elena Riera Salazar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Primera novel·la de Josep Maria de Sagarra, publicada el 1919. La novel·la és un intent de presentar un model alternatiu a la novel·la modernista seguint les indicacions de Josep Carner de fer una novel·la ciutadana i burgesa. “l'autor destil·la el seu sarcasme vestit de tendresa sobre aquest personatge. Una dona de més de quaranta anys, soltera i pertanyent a la burgesia barcelonina de recent passat menestral, sublima la seva frustració amb la dèria d'aparellar personatges que l'envolten. La reacció de les víctimes dóna lloc a tota mena de situacions grotesques fins a arribar a un final inesperat i sorprenent: el fracàs pot convertir-se en èxit” AELLC

[Núria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aquest llibre és com un divertiment d'allò més entranyable. El seu costumisme irònic i la crítica sarcàstica dels personatges i els seus defectes em recorda, salvant les distàncies, a Jane Austen. Una petita joia menor, però molt valuosa.