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Mercè Rodoreda
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The Time of the Doves (La plaça del Diamant) Paperback – October 1, 1986

by Mercè Rodoreda (Author), David H. Rosenthal (Translator, Introduction)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 74 ratings
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The Time of the Doves - by Mercè Rodoreda - is 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.

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  1. Print length
    208 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Graywolf Press
  4. Publication date
    October 1, 1986
  5. Dimensions
    5.25 x 0.65 x 8.3 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780915308750
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0915308750
  8. See all details
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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

About the Author

Mercè Rodoreda is the author of My Christina & Other Stories and Camellia Street-both are available from Graywolf Press.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0915308754
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Graywolf Press; Reprint edition (October 1, 1986)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780915308750
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0915308750
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.65 x 8.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 74 ratings

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  1. Mercè Rodoreda

    Mercè Rodoreda

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  2. David H. Rosenthal

    David H. Rosenthal

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
74 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Godwin Grey
5.0 out of 5 stars The time of the doves - Merce' Rodoreda
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2011
Verified Purchase
This is literature, but not a hard read. like her fellow Catalan, Picasso, her art is easy to appreciate. Forget 'Death of the author' for a moment. Because this poignant tale is all about the author, not that it's at all autobiographical. It's a story set in the Spanish civil war, but it's not a war story. The short introduction by the translator, (whose heart was in his work and one feels, though crossing language barriers is not an easy thing, that he has done Merce justice) tells of how Rodoreda herself was so traumatised by the destruction of her world, she was a non writer for twenty years.

This book, which i have bought and given away many times, is a thing of pain and joy and above all beauty. It might not be the 'best', but I have never read better. Thanks to the fascist Franco, <spits> whose efforts to suppress the Catalan language have made this the most unknown of great classics, you will be amazed that an artist of such genius remains relatively unheard of. I hope that's clear enough ;-)
7 people found this helpful
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Linda Linguvic
4.0 out of 5 stars A sad story set during the Civil War in Spain during the 1930's
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2013
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This 1986 novel brings the reader to the Civil War in Spain in the 1930's, a devastating war that plunged the people into poverty and despair. Told through the eyes of a woman caught up in the tragedy of this war, we first meet her as a young woman being courted and there are hints that this future marriage is not one made in heaven. She has stars in her eyes but her husband is a bit of a brute, her mother-in-law is difficult to get along with, there is little money and she struggles to provide for her two young children who seem like a burden. The family gets along somehow though and one of the ways they make their modest living is by raising doves.

Suddenly, however, the Spanish Civil War is upon them and most of the men go off to war. The woman now has to care for her children. She has to go to work and leave them alone because they are almost starving and eventually have to kill the doves for food.

This is a sad book and at times was hard to read. Eventually, through the years, there are some changes but the husband never does return and even though the woman's life gets a little easier, I was depressed throughout this written classic which is a snapshot of a time and a place in history.
6 people found this helpful
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James Gelb
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2022
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Engrossing. The narrator Carries you along effortlessly through the personal and political changes of civil war era Spain.
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Sheburnz
4.0 out of 5 stars A Woman's Journey
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2014
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It's a real life arc story, gains and losses all along the way, sometimes uncomfortable, realistically so, but with resolution. I read it while I was visiting in Barcelona and it felt authentic to place though it's set in another time. It has some beautiful lyrical passages, while being true to life in its harshness of the times, and how people dealt as best they could. Must be read with the times in mind. I thought it would be more political than it was. It was more human oriented through the eyes and emotions of the protaganist Natalia and what she cared about. The Spanish Civil War was rather secondary. Women don't care that much about politics and the wars that result, more about their man, their children, yet the harsh realities can make all that secondary as well. At some point she must care for both her survival and her sanity, and there were no mental health resources in that regard in that time. It was sometimes depressing but its a good read. I've read the book is described as beautiful. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder in this case. How does one write beautifully about the consequences of war, of what people have to go through during and after war? But i found it a good read, perhaps empowering even.
6 people found this helpful
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Josephine Burns
5.0 out of 5 stars interesting view into historic Catalonia
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2019
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Bought on the advice of a Catalan friend before visiting Barcelona. Enjoyed more than I expected. Literary, stream of consciousness, historic yet modern, a woman struggling to be treated as much a person as the men around her. Now I think of her whenever I see doves.
One person found this helpful
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LC
5.0 out of 5 stars The Spanish Civil War as background
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2019
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Merce Rodoreda was one of Spain's great women writers. She was Gabriel García Márquez's favorite author. He learned Catalan just so he could read this novel in the original. It is an unforgettable book about a woman who was called Colometta --Little Dove by her first husband who didn't deserve the sacrifices she made for him.
5 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic story with unique prose
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2018
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This is a really amazing book. Incredible story and unique prose. I never felt issues with the translation like some of the other reviewers. I wonder if it is more Rodoreda's style that they have issues with. Anyways, I found the book to be captivating throughout. Not a riveting war story, but something much better. One of the books I most frequently recommend.
3 people found this helpful
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Christine S.
4.0 out of 5 stars The Bird Lady
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2012
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Time of the Doves tells the story of a young woman who marries the wrong man and ends up dealing with a life of poverty, naughty children... and birds. Eventually things change, but her life is definitely not one to envy.

Good Stuff
- It is at times humorous and a bit random, but in a charming (not annoying) way. Like when the toddler throws the intestinal word the family was storing in a jar on the baby.
- The story flows well, weaving through the pivotal moments of the narrator's life.
- It was different as far as setting and time period for me, which I appreciated.

But
- It really felt that at times the translation was off; this really bothered me the most. Some of the words just felt... wrong. And, hence, the flow of the syntax seemed off at times.
- For me the end was a bit contrived and a little too happy for my liking.

All in all an interesting, enjoyable quick read.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Luis Ayala
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on October 25, 2016
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The item arrived in a timely manner and it is as described.
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P-RLC
5.0 out of 5 stars Barcelona's past
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 19, 2013
Verified Purchase
I loved this book. Read it after I. Falcones' 'Cathedral of the sea' and Carlos Ruiz Zafon's 'The shadow of the wind'. A good way to balance the male authors' view with that of a Catalan female writer. Highly recommended. My copy was second-had with some markings, but it did not bother me. Needed to consult a street map of Barcelona a few times.
One person found this helpful
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Sebastian Cargutt
3.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps let down by the translation
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2013
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I bought this book after staying in Barcelona adjacent tio the Placa del Diamant this summer. It's a wonderful part of an amazing city and this book does capture some of that atmosphere. t also provides an interesting social aspect to the civil war which is an often overlooked perspective.

Far be it from me to criticise a translator however, but I occasionally got the impression the book had been translated from morse code rather than Catalan. And I hate it when authors change a book's title to anything other than an exact translation.
One person found this helpful
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P. Hyacinth
5.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile Read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 5, 2017
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Such a beautifully written book capturing the feelings of the times with a bit of magic thrown in as well as the pathos.
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Michael James
2.0 out of 5 stars Not My Cup Of Tea
Reviewed in Canada on September 1, 2017
Verified Purchase
Cannot say why, but the prose style grated on my nerves. I thought I would engage deeply, having just arrived from Barcelona. However, despite repeated attempts, I could not get past page 50 or so.
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