Two stories, Virginia & Leonard Woolf
Cal Carré reopens its doors, but changes sector, they have delighted us with its pork and sausage “little ones”, now it delights us with the most classic of literary delicatessens and becomes one of the new and most outstanding independent publishers of Catalonia.
At the head of the publishing house, we find the writer and medievalist Antònia Carré-Pons, proud to give another life to the family business through this new business trajectory.
Cal Carré open up its collection of “little ones” with “Two stories” written by Virginia and Leonard Woolf, because the publisher wants to focus on the market segment of the reissue and translation of classics into the Catalan language.
Opening with Virginia Woolf is also a small tribute to the British writer since the “Two stories” included in this first book are “The Mark on the Wall” by Virginia Woolf and “Three Jews” From Leonard Woolf, stories with which Virginia Woolf and her husband, Leonard, founded the Hogwarts publishing house, in the middle of the Great War. Antònia Carré-Pons refounds the family business and changes from the meat sector to the literary sector after the confinement of the pandemic. In both cases, these are difficult times for entrepreneurship, but this does not mean that the books they publish are not interesting for the readers.
“The mark on the wall” is one of the first stories by Virginia Woolf, where the narrator sends us a series of reflections taking as an excuse simply a mark on the wall. It is the narrative technique of the flow of consciousness, where the author describes a series of thoughts and jet impressions, which, in this case, does nothing but express her vulnerability as a woman to some uses and customs of the British society of the period, at the beginning of the 20th century.
Here it is also worth highlighting the good work of the translator, Marta Pera Cucurell, who has been at the height of the writer with her ability to transmit Woolf’s images, not losing in translation these textual nuances with the that the author takes us to her world.
The second story in the book is made up of “Three Jews” written by Leonard Woolf, an author who has gone down in history as Virginia Woolf’s husband.
In “Three Jews” Leonard Woolf begins with very British prose to narrate the story, but it is, a few lines below when the author hints at a negative criticism of the British way of being: “They were happy in their English way, calm and neat, happy with the warmth of the sun, happy to be between replaced trees and to feel the soft grass underfoot “, which continues to emphasize throughout the story with this critical sentiment towards British society and in favour of the identity of the Jewish community. Everyone knows that Leonard Woolf was of Jewish origin, and it is known how his reactions, a consequence of his traditional Jewish upbringing, caused him to feel increasingly alienated from his more liberal friends in the Bloomsbury group.
Overall, say that the book chosen by Cal Carré is a publishing success since it is a book that not only makes a tribute to Virginia Woolf, as we have commented, but the book allows us to meet again, with a very authentic Virginia Woolf, simply and directly, and, on the other side, it allows us to quickly and in a practical way discover a Leonard Woolf, who despite not being outstanding in his role as a writer, allows us to take advantage of “the occasion” to know him as a narrator.
In this way, the book “Two stories” by Virginia Woolf and Leonard Woolf published in Catalan by Cal Carré is one of those “little ones” that can be considered very appropriate to enjoy at any time of the year, not only because of its “wearable” edition but also for being a book of curious literary interest.