Mercè Rodoreda is a prominent Catalan novelist, best known for works such as La plaça del Diamant (The Diamond Square). The 2025 Guadalajara International Book Fair will feature the theme “Vindran les flors” (The Flowers Will Come), inspired by one of Rodoreda’s short stories.
Born in Barcelona in 1908 and passing away in Girona in 1983, Rodoreda is widely regarded as the most important novelist of the Spanish postwar era. Her writing is celebrated for its richness and lyricism and has been translated into numerous languages. La plaça del Diamant is among her most acclaimed novels and is considered a pinnacle of postwar Catalan literature, according to the Alcobendas City Council.
Mercè Rodoreda i Gurguí was born on October 10, 1908, in Barcelona as an only child. Her father owned a gun shop, and her mother was a homemaker; both were passionate about literature. Although Rodoreda only attended teacher training college for two years, her early life was strongly influenced by her maternal grandfather, Pere Gurguí.
In 1928, at the age of 20, she married her uncle, Joan Gurguí, who was 14 years older. They had one son, Jordi. The marriage eventually failed, and around that time, Mercè began writing and publishing. Her first work appeared in 1932, but it was the publication of Aloma in 1937 that marked the beginning of her recognition as one of the most important writers of the 20th century.
During the Spanish Republic, she contributed to various publications, including La Veu de Catalunya, La Publicitat, and Mirador. When the Spanish Civil War broke out, she worked with the Propaganda Commissariat of the Generalitat. In 1939, she went into exile in France along with other Catalan writers, leaving her son in her mother’s care and not seeing him again for 14 years.
While in exile, she met Armand Obiols, who became the love of her life. Though he was married with children, they began a lifelong relationship. The couple lived in Paris, and later moved to Bordeaux and then Geneva when World War II began. In Geneva, Rodoreda worked as a translator for UNESCO.
It was during her time in Switzerland that she wrote Diamond Square, widely regarded as the most important novel in postwar Catalan literature. The book was both a critical and commercial success, translated into more than 20 languages.
Rodoreda’s literary style—often compared to that of Virginia Woolf, whom she admired—is known for its vivid descriptions and symbolic depth. Her work typically features female protagonists and explores feminine themes with a poetic narrative style. This combination of qualities secured her status as the foremost postwar novelist in Catalonia.
Her work has been translated into 27 languages, and a successful film adaptation of Diamond Square helped cement her international reputation.
