Every April 23, the streets of Catalonia fill with books and roses in celebration of La Diada de Sant Jordi—a tradition that transforms the region into an open-air bookstore. Rooted in both legend and literary history, the day brings together language, identity, and the exchange of stories, as people gift one another books and roses across cities and towns.
Marking both Saint George’s Day and UNESCO’s World Book Day, Sant Jordi reflects Catalonia’s longstanding literary culture, where reading is not only celebrated but embedded in public life.
As part of Diplomatica’s Great Reads from Around the World collection, this selection highlights books connected to Spanish and Catalan literary traditions, nominated by the Embassy of Spain’s Arts & Culture department.
Of Beasts and Fowls
Of Beasts and Fowls explores grief, sisterhood, and the blurred boundary between civilization and the wild. When Coro, an artist undone by loss, arrives at an isolated commune of women, she enters a world shaped by ritual, silence, and desire. Precise and lyrical, Adón’s prose turns this enclosed setting into an allegory of memory and transformation. The novel received Spain’s Premio Nacional de Narrativa (2023), the Premio de la Crítica Española, the Cálamo Otra Mirada, and the Francisco Umbral Prize.
Euphoria Days
Pilar Fraile’s Euphoria Days is a novel that explores dislocation, precarity, and the quiet ruptures of contemporary life. Moving through fragmented moments and shifting perspectives, it captures characters navigating instability—economic, emotional, and environmental. Sparse and controlled, Fraile’s prose builds a cumulative sense of unease, where ordinary realities begin to fracture.
Best for: literary fiction readers
Standout: fragmented structure reflecting instability and dislocation
Land of Mirrors
María Medem’s Land of Mirrors is a visually-driven graphic novel that follows Antonia, the sole inhabitant of a deserted town, whose fragile sense of purpose is tied to a single, mysterious flower. When a traveler arrives, she is drawn into a dreamlike journey that moves between isolation and connection, memory and transformation. María Medem’s Land of Mirrors is a visual-poetic meditation on solitude, memory, and the reverberations of love. Rendered in lush, saturated palettes, formal precision, and minimalist text, the work resists easy allegory even as it evokes mythic longing.
Best for: readers of literary graphic novels
Standout: richly atmospheric visuals paired with a sparse, dreamlike narrative
Living Things
Munir Hachemi’s Living Things follows four young men who travel from Madrid to southern France in search of seasonal work, only to find themselves trapped in the brutal realities of industrial farming. What begins as a quest for experience becomes an encounter with precarious labor, exploitation, and the machinery of global capitalism. Blending diary, autofiction, and eco-thriller, the novel examines how “experience” itself is constructed—and at what cost.
Best for: readers of contemporary literary fiction
Standout: sharp critique of labor, capitalism, and the myth of experience
Woodworm
Layla Martínez’s Woodworm is a gothic novel centered on a grandmother and granddaughter living in a haunted house shaped by generations of violence, poverty, and social exclusion. Set against the backdrop of twentieth-century Spain, the narrative blends the supernatural with class conflict and historical memory, tracing how trauma is inherited and sustained across generations.
Best for: readers of literary horror and contemporary Spanish fiction
Standout: fusion of gothic horror with class and historical critique
Los astronautas
Laura Ferrero’s The Astronauts (Los Astronautas) is a collection of interconnected stories that examine memory, relationships, and the quiet ruptures that shape everyday life. Moving between childhood and adulthood, the narratives capture moments of distance, longing, and emotional dislocation with restraint and precision. Ferrero’s prose is understated, building resonance through what is left unsaid.
Best for: readers of contemporary literary fiction
Standout: interconnected stories focused on memory and emotional distance
Explore more global literature and cultural storytelling through the full Great Reads from Around the World collection—featuring books recommended by embassies, diplomats, and cultural institutions worldwide.
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