Staff Pick
A Thousand Morons is the third collection of short stories by Catalan author, journalist, and translator Quim Monzó to appear in English translation. Split into two sections, A Thousand Morons features (in addition to a most fantastic title) 19 well-crafted stories, many of which are no longer than a couple of pages. Introducing brio into the banal and fun into the funereal, Monzó is able to make an intriguing tale of even the most commonplace incidents or interactions. His often melancholy characters, possessed as they sometimes are by ruminative personalities, endure the vagaries of everyday life with reluctance and resignation. While his stories on their face may appear uncomplicated, they frequently belie the simplicity and straightforwardness of life's more prosaic moments. "I'm Looking Out of the Window," "Praise," and "The Coming of Spring" are among the strongest of the collection's longer stories and "A Cut," "One Night," "Another Night," and "Beyond the Sore" are the best of the briefer ones. A Thousand Morons is further proof that Quim Monzó is one of the more proficient, distinctive, and exciting writers at work today. Recommended By Jeremy G., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
A Thousand Morons is rife with very unfortunate characters, like the prince whose kisses are ineffective in waking the sleeping beauty. An excellent combination of longer, elegiac stories of "morons," aging, and the passage of time—with short, flashier pieces displaying Monzó's wit and playfulness—makes this his strongest collection.
Synopsis
"Today's best known writer in Catalan. He is also, no exaggeration, one of the world's great short-story writers."--The Independent
A Thousand Morons, Quim Monzo's latest collection of short stories, is rife with very unfortunate characters. There's the young boy in "A Cut" who is upbraided by his teacher when he rudely shows up for class with a huge gash in his neck. And the prince in "One Night" who tries everything to awaken a sleeping princess--yet fails completely.
Seeing that this is a Quim Monzo collection, absurdity offsets the "moronic" sadness. Such as "Love Is Eternal," which features a man who decides to finally overcome his commitment issues and marry his dying girlfriend, only to have everything backfire; or "The Fullness of Summer," in which a family meticulously records every moment of their gathering.
An excellent combination of longer, elegiac stories of "morons," aging, and the passage of time--with short, flashier pieces that display Monzo's wit and playfulness--make this one of the strongest collections in the oeuvre of Catalan's short fiction master.
Quim Monzo was born in Barcelona in 1952. He has been awarded the National Award, the City of Barcelona Award, the Prudenci Bertrana Award, the El Temps Award, the Lletra d'Or Prize for the best book of the year, and the Catalan Writers' Award; he has been awarded Serra d'Ormagazine's prestigious Critics' Award four times. He has also translated numerous authors into Catalan, including Truman Capote, J.D. Salinger, and Ernest Hemingway.
Peter Bush is a renowned translator from Catalan, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. He was awarded the Valle-Inclan Literary Translation Prize for his translation of Juan Goytisolo's The Marx Family Saga.
Synopsis
Collection of incredibly funny stories about, well, a bunch of morons.
About the Author
Quim Monzó is considered to be the greatest Catalan writer of his generation. He has received numerous awards, including
Serra d'Or magazine's prestigious Critics' Award four times. He has also translated numerous authors into Catalan, including Truman Capote and J. D. Salinger.
Peter Bush is a renowned translator from Catalan, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. He was awarded the Valle-Inclán Literary Translation Prize for his translation of Juan Goytisolo's The Marx Family Saga.