Description
Once It Was Summer All Night Long
Book Summary
A woman, carrying a life-altering medical report, embarks on a journey on foot across the Albera range during winter. Alone, she follows the trail of the medieval trobairitz Alba de Peralada while the notes of Schubert’s Winterreise accompany her. This physical journey becomes an inner exploration where she leaves behind everything she has been to face essential questions about love, death, and the courage to be alive. A novel that speaks of grief, the transforming body, and the need to find a new language to inhabit the world.
What is it about?
The protagonist receives a medical diagnosis that shakes the foundations of her existence. Instead of giving up, she decides to undertake a solitary journey on foot, crossing the Albera mountains during the coldest season of the year. Her path crosses with the figure of Alba de Peralada, a medieval trobairitz, and with the music of Schubert's Winterreise, which becomes the soundtrack of her inner trek.
The novel explores how the landscape, birds, trees, and waters become a language of their own, different from that of words and numbers. Learning to read it is like learning to walk again: tottering, stumbling, seeking balance. The question that resonates is whether her footprint can be different from what it has been until now, as every cell in her body renews itself.
Main themes
- Grief and acceptance in the face of a life-altering medical diagnosis.
- The journey on foot as a metaphor for inner searching and personal transformation.
- Connection with nature and the landscape as a source of language and meaning.
- The figure of the medieval trobairitz and the dialogue between past and present.
- Music as a traveling companion and an element of emotional resonance.
- Identity, the renewing body, and the question of who we are when everything changes.
Who is it recommended for?
This work is recommended for readers interested in contemporary literature that explores the inner journey, grief, and personal transformation. It is ideal for those seeking novels that combine poetic prose with deep reflection on life, death, and resilience. Also for those who value the fusion of landscape, music, and narrative as structural elements of a story.
What this book offers
- An intimate and moving reflection on how to face a medical diagnosis that changes everything.
- A literary experience that invites slowness, observation, and connection with nature.
- A dialogue between medieval tradition (the trobairitz) and modernity, enriching the narrative.
- A literary soundtrack through Schubert’s Winterreise, which adds a deep emotional layer.
- A hopeful and courageous vision of the ability to reinvent oneself and find a new balance.
Technical specifications
- Author: RIERA, ELISABET
- Publisher: Editorial Males Herbes
- Language: cat
- Subject: MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY FICTION
- Collection: DISTORSIONS
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: August 2023
- Number of pages: 250
- Weight: 300 g
Editorial review
Elisabet Riera offers a novel that combines sensitive and evocative prose with an initiatory journey structure. The work stands out for its ability to weave the physical landscape of the Albera range with the protagonist's emotional landscape, creating a reading experience that invites introspection. The inclusion of the figure of Alba de Peralada and Schubert's music adds layers of meaning that enrich the narrative without overwhelming it. Recommended for readers looking for a literary experience that speaks of the body, time, and the possibility of starting over.