The first chapter of Cosas que pasan is called ‘The Whirlwind’, and the story as a whole has something of a whirlwind to it from beginning to end: a succession of not exactly everyday events, often awful or disturbing or stunning, which spin aroun

“I feel like a muse on leave: I am no longer a promising young thing, and I don’t have a recognised role. I have no aim in sight and I haven’t achieved anything. An idea for a painting which is yet to be defined.

Ignasi und Maria waren von Anfang an dazu bestimmt, sich zu verabschieden. Als sie an die Schule kam, kannten alle schon ihre Geschichte: Ihre Mutter war brutal zusammengeschlagen worden und lag im Koma.

Ignasi and María were destined to part from the beginning. When she arrives at a new school, everyone knows María's story: her mother is in a coma in hospital, after a brutal beating.