The Time of the Doves (La Plaza del Diamante) [Paperback]

Mercè Rodoreda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1986

The Time of the Doves, the powerfully written story of a naïve shop-tender during the Spanish Civil War and beyond, is a rare and moving portrait of a simple soul confronting and surviving a convulsive period in history. The book has been widely translated, and was made into a film.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The most beautiful novel published in Spain since the Civil War."—Gabriel García Márquez

"Mercè Rodoreda is the writer I cannot stop talking about."—Alberto Ríos

"[I] read [The Time of the Doves] cover to cover all in one afternoon. When I was finished, I felt as foolish as Balboa discovering the powerful Pacific."—Sandra Cisneros, from her Foreword to Camilla Street

Language Notes

Text: English, Catalan (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Graywolf Press (October 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0915308754
• ISBN-13: 978-0915308750
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #118,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars La Plaça del Diamant, May 9, 2003

By 

Judith Cerda Belmonte (Zurich, Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Time of the Doves (La Plaza del Diamante) (Paperback)

In my opinion, this is one of the most tender and at the same time hard book written in the 20th century in Catalonia. It mixes love, passion, deep feelings among one of the most difficults times that we Catalans have lived and we still live: the represion in all senses of the Spanish Kingdom.

I would like to suggest to Amanzon, a shop that sells culture, to respect the Catalan culture and not to translate the Catalan book titles into Spanish. The title of this book is "La Plaça del Diamant" (Catalan) and not "La Plaza del Diamante" (Spanish) I am absolutly sure that Merce Rodoreda, a woman who lived the repression on the Spanish for writing, thinking and expressing herself as a Catalan, would appreciate a lot that you keep her titles as they are in bweten brackets: in Catalan.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and simple, June 15, 2002

By 

"cindersct" (Barcelona via Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The time of the doves: A novel (Hardcover)

Why it is not called Placa del Diamant in the English translation, I don't know. But the Time of the Doves is a beautifully written tale of hope in a hopeless time; of survival and the power of love (pardon the cliche). It is simplistic because it can be while still communicating these themes effectively, through the mind of the heroine, Natalia.

I first read this book and Rodoreda's other full-length novel, Camellia Street (now out of print in English), when I visited Barcelona three years ago, to give me a sense of place. Now that I live only four blocks from Placa del Diamant, I have re-read them both with the same pleasure. The statute there of Natalia fleeing the doves and the hold of her husband, serves to bring me back to this rich story.

I challenge a history book to provide a reader with a stronger sense of what Spain was actually like during the civil war and the desperation of the Catalan people.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A simple life, wrought beautifully..., March 25, 2000

By 

Eric Brotheridge (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Time of the Doves (La Plaza del Diamante) (Paperback)

The imagery in this book astounded me: it was fresh and new, very different from anything else I have found in books. My love of Willa Cather eventually led me to this book of Rodoreda's. Like Cather, Rodoreda's language is simple and wonderfully written, her characters are unique and the plot is so subtle.

I enjoyed how the passage of time is explored in the main character's life; from early womanhood through the ordeal of marriage and family to a quiet ecstasy of full maturity. While place plays a very important part in this novel, the setting transcends Barcelona. I sensed the history surronding the characters in the novel yet realized that this story could be set anywhere. I recommend this book for Cather-lovers and those who enjoy a book of the passage of time.