Plants Don't Drink Coffee

by Unai Elorriaga, Amaia Gabantxo (Translator)

“I read Unai Elorriaga’s latest novel almost without stopping to breathe. Breathlessly, yes, but not quickly, because Elorriaga’s books are not the kind you read in two or three hours and put back on the shelf. It is a very good novel. Incredibly good.”—Gorka Bereziartua

Plants Don't Drink Coffee achieves a graceful balance between playfulness (in both language and character) and depth of emotion and thought. Unai Elorriaga gives voice to unassuming characters, to “small” people with “small” lives; he magnifies things that often go unnoticed. Four stories narrated from different perspectives crisscross throughout the novel. In the first-person, the young Tomas—who wants above all else to be intelligent—tells us why it is so important for him to catch a blue dragonfly and introduces his extended (and eccentric) family to us one by one. We observe the surrealist creation of a rugby field on a golf course, unravel the mystery of why a couple of forty years never married, and delve into the intrigue surrounding a European carpentry competition that Tomas’ grandfather had taken part in. Vredaman is teaming with dreamers, free spirits, and nonconformists who follow their inner voices. Beneath the novel’s lighthearted and balletic ways lies a gentle wisdom, a lucid vision of human emotion.

Unai Elorriaga’s first novel, A Streetcar to SP,won Spain’s prestigious National Narrative Prize in 2002. The jury was taken by the freshness of his voice and by how utterly unique the book was. Elorriaga is the most celebrated young Basque author in the Spanish literary landscape. Although influenced by Julio Cortázar and Juan Rulfo, Elorriaga stands alone in both the inventiveness of his narrative and in the particular way his characters reveal their humanity. Elorriaga is truly breaking new ground.

Amaia Gabantxo is a literary translator, writer, and reviewer. Her work has appeared in many journals and newspapers, including TheTimes Literary Supplement and The Independent, as well as in An Anthology of Basque Short Stories and Spain: A Traveler’s Literary Companion (Whereabouts Press). Her translation of Anjel Lertxundi’s Perfect Happiness is forthcoming.

Genres: Fiction, Spain, Literature

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Unai Elorriaga López de Letona (Bilbao, 14 de febrero de 1973) es un escritor español en lengua vasca.

Nacido en Bilbao, ha vivido siempre en el barrio de Algorta del municipio de Guecho (Vizcaya). Licenciado en Filosofía y Letras, sección Filología Vasca por la Universidad de Deusto, es escritor y traductor. Ha publicado hasta el momento cuatro novelas, una obra de teatro y varias traducciones.

Su opera prima, SPrako tranbia (Un tranvía en SP), escrita en euskera y publicada en 2001 por la editorial vasca Elkar, le granjeó fama y prestigio como escritor, especialmente después de que dicha obra fuera galardonada con el Premio Nacional de Narrativa de España de 2002, convirtiéndose Unai Elorriaga en el segundo escritor en euskera en obtener dicho galardón, después de Bernardo Atxaga en 1989. Ese galardón dio a conocer a Elorriaga más allá del País Vasco y desde entonces la editorial Alfaguara ha publicado todas sus novelas traducidas al castellano. El propio Elorriaga es el traductor de sus obras a dicha lengua. Sus cuatro novelas han sido traducidas a múltiples idiomas: italiano, inglés, gallego, alemán, poni, serbio y estonio entre otros.

Es colaborador en prensa escrita (El País, Deia, Euskaldunon Egunkaria, Berria...) y ha sido profesor y ponente en universidades de todo el mundo: Oxford, Georgetown, Universidad del País Vasco, Universidad de Dublín, Universidad de Aberdeen, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon...

Reviews

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

archipelago's existence means good news for book-as-object fetishists and bad news for kindle/nook/robo-reader or whatever i-pad machine is happening right now, no matter how fun and swooshily elegant they make the hand gestures look.

archipelago just makes gorgeous books. they make books you want a windowseat for; to curl up in with an oversized mug of tea and a blankie and a single cookie on a gold-rimmed plate, more for show than sustenance. thick, textured paper, sophisticated european-style covers - mmmm....

fuck you, kindle.

i mean, you can read them on a kindle:

Plants don't drink coffee. They don't like coffee, and neither do flowers and trees. Birds don't like it either. My aunt told me. I do. Sometimes I don't breathe while i drink my cafe con leche. One whole mug. It's a big mug. I down the whole mug every morning, without taking a breath. That's a record of mine. Maybe I'm the only one in the world who holds that record.

but, see, if i read that on a kindle, (shudder to think), i would automatically impart a robot voice to it, and it would lose the charm of the child-narrator. it would sound more like stephen hawking, and it would be unavoidable.

but the book is great; i love the child-logic of the part narrated by tomas:

Then there are insects. Insects are 200 million years old. My cousin Ines told me that. Ines knows a lot about insects. Maybe Ines knows more about insects than anyone in the world. Insects are: butterflies, beetles, and dragonflies, and they are 200 million years old. That's why insects are so small, because they are very old. Old people are also often smaller than young people. They are not smaller than children, because children are the smallest people of all. Especially just after they've been born. But old people are also very small, compared to young people. Piedad is an old lady i know. And she is very small, because she is old. My aunt told me Piedad is eighty-two years old. And insects are 200 million years old. That's why they are so small.

i think that is charming. but if you don't, the book isn't all like that. it is the story of a family, with different parts of the story told in different characters' voices. this is another part i liked, BUT I DO NOT ADVOCATE THE PRACTICE:

Every time Mateo went to the library to steal books he brought some cardboard in his pocket. Something bright; red cardboard, or neon green or yellow. And Mateo would leave the cardboard on the shelf he'd taken the book from, and write: "I've stolen this book." Then he'd write the author's name, the title of the book, the publisher, the year it was published and, if he had time, the ISBN too.

also kudos for not saying "ISBN number", which i do all the time, but i cringe inside while it is happening.

dunno - this book is charming, and i love that this publisher exists to give me books from distant lands that other publishers are not making available, even though it is one of those publishers that i own about 30 books from, and have read only a fraction.

but - do - go - support, etc...
it's the weekend - read a book.

come to my blog!

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella was my February selection for my challenge to read one translated book a month. From the title and cover art I thought it might be experimental. Instead it is a moving story that managed to bring me a large dose of joy during the dark and rainy days of last month.

Much of the book is in the voice of young Tomas. Listen to him: "Plants don't drink coffee. They don't like coffee, and neither do flowers or trees. Birds don't like it either. My aunt told me. I do. Sometimes I don't breathe while I drink my cafe con leche."

Tomas is staying with his aunt because his father is gravely ill, in hospital, and his mother sits by her husband's bed. His teenage cousin is hard at work on a summer project to collect all the insects she can find in the village. Tomas accompanies her and wants himself to find a rare blue dragonfly. It is said that the one who catches it will become the most intelligent person in the world. I fell in love with Tomas.

Throughout the summer, at his aunt's and at family gatherings, he listens to their stories and tries to piece the details together from his eight-year-old limited experience of life. Along with him, I got a picture of small-town life there in these current times.

By the end he has had to deal with many new concepts. I was so inspired by this deceptively simple tale from the Spanish area of the Basque Country that I began to write again myself, after a long dry spell.

[Jessica Bhagaloo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that this books is written as a child would speak, or how an older person may speak, in a very rambled manner yet relatively on topic. It a beautiful almost slice of life type book.

[Blue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plants Don't Drink Coffee is a fun, colorful read, with many quirky characters telling their stories that take place before and around one summer. This particular summer is important, only because the boy, Tomas, is living with his aunt, uncle, and cousins while his father is sick in the hospital. There are many stories told, from different mouths, about the events that take place before and during this time. Tomas helps his cousin Ines collect bugs all summer, and learns many interesting things about the insect world. Not to worry, he comes to his own strange conclusions about some insects, and the rest of the world on the way. His other cousin discovers that his grandfather was a world renowned carpenter, though nobody seems to remember just exactly how his big competition ended. Did he win? Tomas's uncle, who is obsessed with rugby, takes his passion to new levels, with a little help from his best friend, the townsfolk, and well, the Welsh and Irish, of course! And there is Piedad, who never married the famous architect, though we do not know just exactly why not.

The translation reads well in English, and the narration style is based on frequent repetition, which evokes the way people really talk and think in some parts. It certainly reminded me of my mother's side of the family, who tell a lot of gossip and stories, and repeat things incessantly as the stories unfold.

Recommended for those who like insects, rugby, and needles. Not recommended for those who like golf (just kidding!)

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightful little book is translated from the Basque. It is at once child-like in its perspective and a bit surreal. Read as a series of vignettes of village life the narrator, young Tomas, bounces easily between his search for a magical blue dragonfly, the building of a secret rubgy field on the town golf course, to his search for stories of his grandfather who may have been the greatest carpenter in Europe.

[Stacia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished Plants Don't Drink Coffee by Unai Elorriaga (a Basque author). It's refreshingly sweet & charming (& a little bit bittersweet too) -- a lovely little tale. The description/review that I linked is spot on, imo.

Definitely recommended, esp. for those who enjoy international literature.

[Abigail J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the most charming, engaging books I've ever read! Told from a child's perspective, the story deals with real human matters such as ambition, death, and memories.

[Ramiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al principi va ser “Un Tramvia a SP”, ni més ni menys que Premi Nacional de Narrativa al 2002. Elorriaga sorprenia al lector amb un interessant joc de veus i un llenguatge entre urbà i poètic que sense deixar de ser realista tenia certes dosis d’onirisme. Tot plegat una novel·leta aconseguida, fresca en el seu moment i prou oportuna com per aconseguir el Nacional de Narrativa, que no és poca cosa.

El 2003 publica “El pelo de Van’t Hoff” (en castellà el 2004) que passa ràpidament i discreta per les nostres llibreries.

És al 2005 quan arriba “Vredaman”, traduït al català per Cristina Torrent, el 2006, a la col·lecció “Les ales esteses”, dins La Magrana. És un treball, la traducció, molt correcte però com ja ens passava al llegir Atxaga, constantment ens ve al cap la sensació que s’ha perdut part de la màgia al passar-lo de l’euskera (o del castellà) al català. És cert que sempre passa a les traduccions, però no sempre el lector experimenta aquesta mena d’enyorança.

Sigui com sigui “Vredaman” és la intersecció de diferents personatges, quatre de principals, en una història comú, estranya, absolutament local i no gaire versemblant.

Elorriaga enceta la narració rere la veu narrativa d’un nen, en Tomás, que va presentant el seu món des del seu prisma infantil ple de petites incoherències, il·lògiques deduccions causa-efecte, repeticions innecessàries, fantasies i és clar, descripcions parcials que van donant pistes sobre el desenvolupament de la trama.

Aquestes descripcions parcials són una de les estratègies narratives de “Vredaman” ja que a través d’elles es desenrotlla la història: allò que enganxa a continuar amb la lectura és molt probablement el desig de completar aquestes descripcions obertes una rere l’altra i que no s’aconsegueix ben bé fins al desenllaç.

Personatges típics d’Elorriaga, espais poc definits amb una important pinzellada impressionista, i un tractament del temps entre bucòlic i nostàlgic, aconsegueixen que capítol a capítol ens endinsem en una història que sense ser res de l’altre món ens mantingui atents i, en bona part, amb un somriure als llavis.

Probablement Elorriaga estigui esgotant la veta, la veu trobada amb “Un Tramvia a SP”, probablement hagi de cercar noves vies, noves formes de narrar i crear, però mentre ho fa, “Vredaman” és una lectura recomanable que tracta al lector amb respecte i li demana una mica de col·laboració.

Si el lector ho fa, si s’és un lector mínimament atent, les poques horetes que es necessiten per llegir aquesta darrera novel·la d’Elorriaga seran, sense cap mena de dubte, una bona inversió.

[Ian, etc. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts strange and gets stranger. I’m not against it, but not sure I’m keeping up. A little bit like *Mama Leone,* and if I hadn’t read that first I might like this better. In both, a child peering into and hoping to make sense of the world’s mysteries. A playful project, by necessity, but room enough for a gut punch, and while Elorriaga manages both well enough, he plays too close to the mean to ever attain the comic heights or emotional depth of Jergović. I almost wish he took the route of Babel’s *Of Sunshine and Bedbugs,* plunging more fully into a singular angle — not expecting him to match Babel’s weightiness, but I could see him finding greater success with an equally impassioned commitment to the more hallucinatory elements of this narrative. Still a fine project, but just that.

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a pretty book (Archipelago), with a pretty cover, with an intriguing title and an intriguing first passage. The voice of the child might have worked had the voices of the other character chapters been distinct. They all bleed together, and the language tries too hard to charm. Repetition and quirkiness become too much. The stories were interesting, but I found myself very impatient with the cuteness of language.

[atito · Rating 2 out of 5]

maybe i'm slightly over child-narrators, but this one didn't even seem invested in that concept since all other perspectives were imbued with that same, repetitive style. i do appreciate, however, that thin layering of childlike-consciousness (an impossibility these days?) where one would be aware of how much one does not know & could count, no matter how long it takes, what one does

[Nicole Kroger Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

#readtheworld Spain

This is one of the most charming and enjoyable books I've read in a long time. 2020 has been a rough year all-around, and this was exactly what I needed to boost my spirits.

The story begins from the perspective of young Tomas, adjusting to life with his aunt, uncle and cousins while his father is gravely ill in the hospital, Tomas's mother by his side. Tomas's voice is childlike, in an endearing way (unlike the child narrator of Room whose juvenility wasn't believable for a second).

The book is also narrated by some of Tomas's family members like his cousin, Mateo, who is on a search for information about his grandfather's illustrious carpentry skills. He must search the village far and wide to find those who had been around to experience his grandfather and to learn about his heritage through them. It makes you want to reach out to your own grandparents for the information that may disappear with them.

Simon is Tomas's uncle who has quite the obsession with rugby. But not just rugby, for his goal is to be a rugby linesman (not even a player). His quest to become a linesman and to build a rugby field on his town's golf course are beyond entertaining.

The last character, Piedad, is a friend of Tomas's aunts, who comes around every day to the aunts' sewing room to gossip. Piedad's long-ago romance with famous architect, Samuel Mud, is central to her story as all want to know why the two lovers never married all those years ago.

I'm so glad my dear friend lent me this book. I'm sorry that it sat on my shelf for so long before I decided to pick it up. I'm not sure why I didn't read it sooner, and that is the only thing I regret!

[Daniel Buitrago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoy he terminado Vredaman, la novela de Unai Elorriaga (versión en castellano de Alfaguara, 2006). Ya fue reconocido y laureado por su novela Un tranvía en SP, como sus demás obras, escrita en euskera y traducida con posterioridad. De ésta recuerdo su tremenda fragmentación y aquel mosaico tan logrado en el que las piezas aparecían aisladas y a la vez íntimamente interrelacionadas. Asistíamos a los sueños y ensueños de su protagonista, subiendo los últimos peldaños de la vida como en una ascensión a alguna de las montañas más altas del planeta. Fue un juego creativo y experimental que leí con interés.

Vredaman conserva parte de los logros estilísticos y formales de aquella, pero va más allá. También en ella escuchamos diferentes voces, ecos de edades distintas. Nos reencontramos con los niños y las narraciones filtradas por el prisma del pensamiento infantil. Son historias tiernas, llenas de seres singulares en búsqueda permanente, mostrados por un niño que nos lleva de un lugar a otro. Nostalgia, inocencia, recuerdos. Niños que cazan insectos y experiencias nuevas, hombres con ilusiones que se plantean retos, mujeres que atesoran secretos; chavales que investigan sobre otros hombres y acaban valorando su enorme talla personal.

Oímos el latido de sus corazones, sentimos el calor de sus emociones, nos prende su emotividad creciente.

Tenía una duda con respecto al título. He descubierto en internet que Vredaman es una palabra inventada, que no aparece en el libro, y que el autor la sacó de la mezcla del nombre de uno de los personajes de la novela Mientras agonizo, de William Faulkner, un niño llamado Vardaman, y del nombre de un pintor holandés, Vredeman de Brie, que tuvo un hijo que nunca pintó un cuadro original, sino que lo único que hizo fue copiar los de su padre.

[Jee Koh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stories told from different perspectives give a memorable picture of three generations of a Basque family. Tomas, whose father is dying in the hospital, is looking for a rare blue dragonfly that he believes will make him the most intelligent person in the world. His uncle Simon is determined to bring an international rugby match to their village, and so paints up a field in the local golf course. His cousin Mateo wants to know whether his grandfather Julian won the contest to become the best carpenter in all Europe.

Piedad, an old woman who visits Tomas's aunts in the sewing room, owns a mystery that the other women are dying to solve but are too polite to ask directly: why didn't she marry the famous architect Samuel Mud when she was so in love with him? In their different ways, the characters go against convention and so become individuals. The style consists of short simple sentences. The use of syntactical repetition reminds me a little of Gertrude Stein, but it serves to move the plot along.

According to the back flap, Unai Elorriaga was born in 1973 in Bilbao. He is the author of three novels written in Basque and self-translated into Spanish. His 2002 debut A Tram to SP won Spain's Premio Nacional de Narrativa. Amaia Gabantxo translated Plants into English. I got my copy from the Instituto Cervantes when they were giving away free books on the Day of the Book.

[Laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was sent to me by the National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman, who recently was in Idaho. The Congressman and I spent a day with him in Boise and Twin Falls a few weeks ago. As a thank you Mr. Landesman and staff sent this book. This book is a translation from Basque to English the translation funded by the NEA. The book "four stories narrated from four perspectives....: Young Tomas - who wants above all else to be intelligent and embarks upon a dizzying search for a rare blue dragon fly, of which he believes there are only nine or ten in the world (and therefore probably only two or three in his town). Drawing the reader into the channels of his mercurial mind, skipping through misadventures and stumbling upon a host of small wonders, we are introduced to three generations of his motley family tree and accompany them on their odd quests..... age, wisdom, sensibility, and truth, inviting us to open our eyes to the bounty of tiny marvels that make up our world." It is somewhat of an enchanting book into a world that was new to me.

[Kitty-Wu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vredaman entrellaça quatre històries: un nen que intenta caçar una libèl·lula blava per arribar a ser tan intel·ligent com un metge; dos amics que entren en un camp de golf a mitjanit, d'amagat, sense que ningú sàpiga què volen fer-hi; una dona que durant més de quaranta anys va festejar amb un arquitecte de renom internacional, però ningú no entén per què mai no es van casar, i un jove que descobreix per casualitat que el seu avi va participar en el Campionat d'Europa d'Ebenistes el 1927, i intenta descobrir el resultat d'aquella curiosa competició. Aquesta novel·la, plena de personatges peculiars, enginyosos i memorables, cadascun amb el seu estil i manera de parlar, té molta part de joc, però més enllà del joc, el lector gaudirà de la seva lúcida reflexió sobre els éssers humans. Un relat perfecte que es va fent més emocionant a mesura que s'aproxima al final.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhat too clearly aiming to charm and inspire, this multi-voiced collection of vignettes about a quirky extended (presumably Basque) family occasionally succeeds, but for me the vaguely oral-style repetition becomes trying after a dozen pages, especially in the "mouth" of the the youngest narrator. I found Tomas' search for information about his grandfather's participation in a European carpentry contest, and the parts about some uncles preparing for a big rugby match on a golf course somewhat compelling, but the kids' search for the blue dragonfly... ugh.

[Elly Sands · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quirky and very creative book. Unlike any I've ever read in both it's content and format. Although very innovative that doesn't mean that I totally enjoyed the storyline. The book is narrated by a young boy so it takes awhile to get used to the childlike dialogue. It is not only his story but also family members and friends. Some characters drew me in and others were less appealing. Well, I'm glad I read it simply because of it's uniqueness. So I guess I praise the writing style but the story not so much.
P.S. Heather I'd love to send you this book?

[Chris]

An entertaining book, it reminded me some of "The Curious Tale of The Dog in the Nighttime". One of the voices is a child with limited powers of observation, the limits that emphasize the important details often missed by adults.
There's a wealth of tales woven into this story of a small village. Rugby, carpentry, relations, familial and communial. It is a story told through rich, multidimensional characters.

[julieta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Este libro me hizo pensar en los doblajes de las pelis, cuando una voz de adulto dobla a un personaje infantil y usa una voz "aniñada". Sí, esoso que suelen hacer a los niños sonar como tontos, y en este libro es como suena, como si por ser niño tienes que hablar un poco como tontín. Por ese tono me costó entrarle al libro, y creerle al autor.

[Larissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review here: http://www.rochester.edu/College/tran...

[Oriana]

Oh boy I love Archipelago books. And this one gets a great review by Three Percent, which I also love. Sweet!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did a video review of this book at http://www.wingchairbooks.com/2010/10...

[Will E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful prose, though a little too meandering for my taste.

[David Osuna · Rating 4 out of 5]

La historia comienza con las instrucciones, deliciosamente narradas, para hacer un café con leche. A partir de ahí, lo más cercano al realismo mágico desde Euskadi.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son Jesse gave me this book; I held onto it for a few years before actually plunging in. "Plants Don’t Drink Coffee" transforms the reader as it casts a delightful spell bringing us into the world of a curious, impressionable child – simply charming. Read it slowly to savor its novelty.

“…And then I told them about grasshoppers. I told them how grasshoppers never fight. And I asked them, Have you ever seen a grasshopper fight? Because that’s what Ines asked me, Have you ever seen a grasshopper fight? And I said I hadn’t. And Dolfo and Ismael said they hadn’t. And then I told them that grasshoppers don’t fight the normal way, with punches and guns and shotguns. That’s why you’ll never see them fight. What grasshoppers do is, they sing. And when they want to go to war with another grasshopper what they do is, they sing. That way they never get hurt. There is no army, and when a grasshopper wants to go to war it has to do it itself, it can’t send somebody else in its place. (pp. 107-108)