Book by Spanish’s Neus Penalba Is Named One of the Year's Best Catalan Books
Assistant Professor of Spanish Neus Penalba’s recent book Fam als ulls, Ciment a la boca. Una lectura de "La mort i la primavera," de Mercè Rodoreda examines the aesthetic elements of the posthumous work of Catalan novelist Mercè Rodoreda.
Fams als ulls, Ciment a la boca is Penalba’s first book and has received numerous accolades in Spain. The book was voted by critics of the Spanish newspaper El País as the fifth best book across all genres published in Catalan in 2024. In addition, the Barcelona newspaper Ara named it the best essay published in Catalonia last year.
After the book's release in April 2024, the Barcelona Centre of Contemporary Culture appointed Penalba as curator of an exhibition on Rodoreda’s legacy. The exhibition is scheduled to open on December 5, 2025.
She is also currently working on an English version of her book.
Penalba’s research interests include contemporary Iberian fiction and film, viewed through the lens of environmental humanities. She is especially interested in how different cultural traditions intersect and find commonalities among similar or shared questions on topics like identity or society’s connection to nature. She explores these topics through various disciplines and methodologies, from comparative literature to cultural anthropology and film studies to art history.