Josep Pla's 'Le Cahier gris' Published in French by Gallimard

Gallimard has published the French translation of Josep Pla's 'Le Cahier gris' (translated by Serge Mestre), an 800-page journal from his youth, written during 1918-1919 and later rewritten. Pla, born in 1897 in Palafrugell, Spain, is a key figure in modernizing Catalan literature. The journal offers insight into his early life in the Empordà region, near Barcelona, where he studied law and aspired to become a writer. Influenced by Montaigne, Nietzsche, Stendhal, and Dostoevsky, Pla's work is noted for its humor, lucid view of human comedy, and underlying pessimism. The publication aims to introduce Pla's rich oeuvre to a broader French audience.