''Typescript of the Second Origin'' (
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
: ''Mecanoscrit del segon origen'') is a
science fiction novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
written by
Manuel de Pedrolo in 1974, that had a great success and that has become one of the best-selling books of
Catalan literature. The work is divided into 6 chapters, the first 5 of them having a similar extension and being called ''Quaderns'' (Catalan word for ''Notebooks'') and the last of them being short and entitled «És l'Alba la mare de la humanitat actual?» (''Is Alba the mother of current humanity?''). The novel was published in English in 2017 by
Wesleyan University Press.
It was brought to television by a very successful TV series produced and displayed by
TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to:
Television
*Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso
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*Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by EPTV ...
,
and in 2015 it was adapted for the big screen with the film ''
Segon origen''.
Plot
In this novel de Pedrolo tells the story of Alba and Dídac, 14 and 9 years old respectively, who live in a Catalan town called Benaura. They become the only survivors on Earth after extraterrestrials destroy almost all humanity. Before the invasion, Dídac is attacked by some neb from the town because he is black. He falls into the water, and Alba, who sees the scene, jumps in to save him. Being under the water protects them from destruction.
During the following four years, they survive in a destroyed world and face many and varied troubles and difficulties that make them mature quickly. They realise the importance of knowledge by keeping and reading books. They run away from the pestilence and take refuge in a farmhouse, where they find dead people and survivors. They walk by the ruins of
Barcelona and the Mediterranean Sea. They learn from everything that happens to them (illnesses, enemy defense) and from the information they collect.
The book explores the relationship between the two children and the recreation of a world as a
utopia. The narration is structured in chapters that always start the same way: by mentioning Alba's age and her
virginity.
The narrator is
omniscient
Omniscience () is the capacity to know everything. In Hinduism, Sikhism and the Abrahamic religions, this is an attribute of God. In Jainism, omniscience is an attribute that any individual can eventually attain. In Buddhism, there are diffe ...
and uses much description.
Translations
The novel has been translated to
Spanish (1984), to
Dutch (1986), to
Basque (1989), to
Galician (1989), to
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
(1993), to
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
(2000), to
Portuguese (2004) and to
Italian (2011). In November 2016, the Council of Lleida financed the first translation into
English, which was published in the
United States in 2017.
References
Bibliography
* {{cite book , last1=de Pedrolo , first1=Manuel, last2=Ballús , first2=Carme , date=2009 , title=Mecanoscrit del segon origen , url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/690388569 , location=Barcelona , publisher=Educaula , pages= 255, isbn=9788492672356 , oclc=690388569
See also
* ''
Second Origin'': film adaptation.
1974 science fiction novels
1974 children's books
Children's science fiction novels
Spanish children's novels
Spanish science fiction novels
Post-apocalyptic novels
1974 in Catalonia
Catalan-language novels
Catalonia in fiction