When in 2018 the unknown Eva Balthazar burst onto the literary scene with ‘permagel‘, a book that won the Premi Llibreter, immediately stood out for rising up as a powerful and forceful voice, even granite. Also for introducing a subject relatively little treated until then in Catalan letters: lesbianism seen from today. More than the theme, it was the stark way in which he spoke of love between women, openly using the word “fuck” and stripping this type of relationship of all lyricism.
1. The female character stands as an anti-hero of postmodernity
‘Boulder’, the second installment of a trilogy that closed with ‘Mammoth‘ last year, is the continuation of the exploration of a femininity that is questioned and sought beyond taboos. AND who says femininity, says maternity. In all three books we find a strong female character, solitary and isolated, who stands as an anti-hero of postmodernity.
2. The issue of motherhood approached from a homosexual relationship
This is one of the first keys to this book starring a surly and free ship cook who sees how her partner, Samsa, for whom she abandons her nomadic lifestyle, is practically transformed as a result of the experience of motherhood, causing inevitably the break. “Samsa’s maternity is exclusive” says the protagonist. This new demystified way of approaching becoming a motherhere as a result of in vitro insemination, is the second key to the novel.
3. The creation of steamy sex scenes
Baltasar, and this is the third outstanding aspect, does not shy away from the crude sex scenes in the novel, but rather indulges in them. He talentedly describes, for example, the relationship between two nursing mothers with babies in between. In this desire to show, to equate sexuality between women to that of the male heterosexual in force and intensity, a link could be established with the film by Abdellatif Kechiche ‘La vie d’Adèle’ (2013), a classic of lesbian cinema.
4. The inclusion of unusual settings in Catalan literature, such as Finland or Greenland
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The fourth noteworthy aspect is the inclusion of unusual settings in Catalan literature, such as Chile, Iceland or Greenland. Thus, the protagonist walks through the dark streets of Reykjavik, where she has set up a ‘food truck’ and sells empanadas while her partner works more than ten hours a day and earns a lot of money. She is the daughter of globalization, she so much, she gives where she is, the dynamics are the same, but the protagonist of ‘Boulder’ navigates against the current and precisely seeks a provisionality that prevents her from fitting into the system.
5. The stylistic work, which reveals a poet’s gaze
Finally, the stylistic work carried out by the writer is particularly noteworthy, revealing a true poet’s gaze without ever falling into lyricism. Rather, it is the sensitivity that is expressed in this story that, like the other two in the trilogy, appears distilled to offer the essential. It should not be forgotten that Baltasar, finally, has carved out a work as a poet and has been rewarded on various occasions. Here we must remember that we are dealing with a label, Club Editor, directed by an editor, Maria Bohigas, with an extremely demanding formality and rigor.