Miquel de Palol is nominated for the Prix des Libraires du Québec 2017 for his novel El Jardí dels set crepuscles (The garden of the Seven Twilights) published in French by Éditions Zulma.
Since its first publication in Catalan in 1989, El jardí dels set crepuscles –first novel by Palol– has been highly acclaimed by the critics. An architect by profession, Miquel de Palol (Barcelona, 1953) has worked more intensely as a writer, and has won many important prizes, both for his poetry and for his short stories and novels. He has contribute to several newspapers, reviews and magazines, including El País, La Vanguardia, El Mundo, El Urogallo and Serra d’Or, and is a member of l’Associació d’Escriptors en Llengua Catalana (Association of Catalan Writers) and the Catalan PEN Club. In 1998, he was awarded the Rosalia de Castro Prize for his body of work and in 2015 he received the Jocs Florals of Barcelona Prize for his recent book of poetry Dos cors per una bèstia.
El Jardí dels Set Crepuscles (The Garden of the Seven Twilights) is a rich mosaic formed by stories linked to a variety of genres –philosophical, historical, romantic, symbolist, science-fiction, detective–, a complex literary device, full of cultural references and allusions, that exudes the pleasure of writing and the enjoyment of narrating. A book that evokes the tradition of works such as The Thousand and one Nights, The Decameron,The Canterbury Tales, and that has been considered by critics as a masterpiece of contemporary world literature.
The Quebec Bookseller’s Prize was created in 1995 by the Quebec Booksellers Association and the Quebec International Book Fair and rewards the writer which work has caught the attention of booksellers for its originality and its literary quality.
El Jardí dels set crepuscules is shortlisted in the category of “Roman hors Québec”, together with Être ici est une splendeur: Vie de Paula M. Becker de Marie Darrieussecq (P.O.L.), I love Dick de Chris Kraus (Flammarion), Le garçon de Marcus Malte (Zulma) y Station Eleven d'Emily St. John Mandel (Alto)
The winner of the 2017 Prize will be announced next May 2017.