''The Time Of The Doves'' (also translated as ''The Pigeon Girl'' or ''In Diamond Square''; original

Catalan-language Catalan (; autonym: , ), known in the Valencian Community and Carche as ''Valencian'' (autonym: ), is a Western Romance language. It is the official language of Andorra, and an official language of three autonomous communities in eastern Spa ...

: ''La plaça del Diamant'', that is ''Diamond Square'') is a 1962 novel written by exiled Catalan writer

Mercè Rodoreda Mercè Rodoreda i Gurguí (; 10 October 1908 – 13 April 1983) was a Catalan novelist. She is considered the most influential contemporary Catalan language writer, as evidenced by the references of other authors in her work and the internation ...

. The book is named after a square in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

's Gràcia district. It is featured in Harold Bloom's ''

The Western Canon ''The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages'' is a 1994 book about Western literature by the American literary critic Harold Bloom, in which the author defends the concept of the Western canon by discussing 26 writers whom he sees as ce ...

'' as part of a list of canonical books of the "Chaotic Age". Arguably the author's most accomplished work, the novel has been translated into more than thirty languages and is regarded as one of the most important pieces of fiction in contemporary

Catalan literature Catalan literature is the name conventionally used to refer to literature written in the Catalan language. The focus of this article is not just the literature of Catalonia, but literature written in Catalan from anywhere, so that it includes writ ...

. It is also a staple of the curriculum in

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

programs across

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

. Set in Barcelona during the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...

and the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, the novel pictures a young woman, Natalia, and her struggles in life as well as her relationships with two men: Quimet, her first husband, who dies in the war; and Antoni, her second husband. It is also chronicle of life in the city at the time, in a balanced mixture of psychologism and naturalism.

Adaptations

It was made into a film in 1982 directed by

Francesc Betriu Francesc Betriu was a Catalan filmmaker. He was born in the town of Organyà, Lleida in 1940. ''Corazón solitario'' marked his feature film debut in 1973, a film that is now rarely seen. This was followed by films such as ''Furia española'' (1 ...

, and has spawned several theatrical adaptations, including a play directed by Joan Ollé in 2004 and another in 2007 adapted by Josep M. Benet i Jornet.

External links

Qüestionari del llibre (material didàctic)

Informació sobre l'adaptació teatral de l'obra al TNC (web del TNC)

* ttp://www.pencatala.cat/ctdl/autors_catalans/merce_rodoreda/obra/la_placa_del_diamant_1962.php Reflexió sobre l'obra per part de Carme Arnau a PENcatala.cat
Apunts sobre l'obra
-

Rincón del Vago Rincon or Rincón (Spanish for ''corner'') may refer to: * Rincon (meadow) * Rincon (abandoned meander) People * Rincon (surname) * Rincón (footballer, born 1977), born Gilvan Santos Souza, Brazilian football striker * Rincón (footballer, 1 ...

La Plaça del Diamant real amb l'escultura de la Colometa

Any Rodoreda 1908-2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Time of the Doves, The Novels set in Barcelona Catalan-language novels 1962 novels 20th-century Spanish novels Spanish novels adapted into films

Adaptations

See also

External links