Fairy tales made old and new again
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In this dense, allegorical fantasy drama, Solà builds a house of women, the living and the dead keeping their eyes on each other as past choices come to haunt successive generations of women in the Mas Clavell house. The matriarch Bernedeta is dying and around her ghosts, spirits, unfathomable darknesses and the Devil himself wait for her, the latest in a long line of women who defied the men in their lives, their enemies and most of all the Devil. Beginning with a pact between Old Nick and Joana, the first of these women to live in that house, where Joana seeks to exploit a loophole in their deal, calamity and ill-fortune cluster around the house through the generations, until the only things that might save them are the stories and myths that they tell each other in the lonely nights of this distant Spanish countryside.

Every line in Solà’s novel is rich with symbolism and emotion, and it was such a pleasure to read as the author built the tension and the imagery. The lives of the women collided and coalesced into a house, a home, a family built of women and the choices that they had to choice but to make. Brutal, visceral, dark and funny, this should sit beside Angela Carter’s retold fairy tales as a lesson in how to make things new and old again.

Four and a half stars

I am sorry, but I gave up on reading this book after 30% of it. The narrative was extremely confusing, and I just couldn't understand what was happening anymore. The story is borderline disgusting. I enjoy a little bit of a different type of horror. Although the author is a very talented writer and the writing was amazing, my brain was not interested at all. Still, I recommend giving it a go despite my rating. The text is amazing.

Thanks to the author and the publisher for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

I wasn't a huge fan of this book. I had looked forward to reading it, and whilst there is no doubt that the author is a talented writer, the jumping around / back and forth nature of the storytelling, along with the magic realism / fantastical aspects of the story (being born with or without a tail for example) did not appeal to me or make the book very readable.
I already have "When I sing" on my Kindle so will read it at some point to compare with this one!

This book was bizarre, grotosque, dark, and yet entirely engrossing. It was easy to get slightly confused between the different timeframes and characters involved, but once you found your groove into this story, it was a great read
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

My expectation after reading the synopsis, this gotta be a folklore-ish story with some magical realism touch. But also sense some mystical thingy, cause the cover kinda reminds me a witch. So am I wrong? Mostly except the folklore-ish style.

Hella depressing, and maybe dark too just because the MC, Bernadetta decides to make a pact with the devil just to get married. And yes she got what she wishes for but her descendants come after are marked. Plus, the plot seems to thread in a very hazy way. Myth and memory blurs and even time folds in on itself. Whether it’s past or present, for sure they are somewhere deep in the woods, surrounded by ghosts, animals and women mostly exist to carry the weight.

I fight within myself if only it sets in the past especially medieval era cause the vibe kinda inclined to it. The story is quite loose, shifting and even confusing at first. Maybe that’s the part of attraction after all.

What I really adored is how women centric the story is. The men are mostly gone/unalived/ or missing after dumping their seeds to these poor ladies. The ladies stay and hold their house, memories and pain. It’s messy, grotesque and poetic but that’s the way it is. Prolly these ladies are meant to be highlighted and give space to their voice, across generations and across life and death.

Totally a challenging one but luckily also a short one ☝🏼. The vibe is overall strange and heavy and also exhausting but it’s genuinely offers the best of itself. And for that, I kinda love it.

Yes yes yes, this is EXACTLY what I want! Not only does this book have an absolute banging title but it actually lives up to it. The weirdness, the feelings, the characters, the twists, it had everything I love in a book and I definitely will be rereading this and getting myself a physical copy. I occasionally got a little mixed up with who's who because there were so many characters and generations and the format sometimes didn't help this confusion the way it jumped into different timelines, however I would only be confused for like 5 seconds before I remembered which daughter or sister we were following.

An absolute yes from me, I'd recommend to anyone who likes odd books, intragenerational stories, magical realism, elements of horror, and all of the above but written beautifully!

Let me start this review by saying how unique, beautiful and memorable Solà’s writing is. I had the pleasure of discovering her previously translated to English book When I Sing, Mountains Dance with a bookclub and I am eternally grateful that, first, the bookclub put this book on my radar and two, that I had a chance to read and discuss it with other readers. It has since become one of my favourite books.
But getting to I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Toward Darkness, it is a beautifully and poetically written short novel weaving mythology and stories from the Pyrenees in Catalonia, Spain. Originally written in Catalan and translated by Mara Faye Lethem it is a masterpiece of poetic prose and incredible skill in language from both the author and the translator. The book follows the women of a secluded farmhouse throughout many generations as well as through one day, the storytelling cleverly meandering between the two timelines, blending them together as well as blending the world of the living women and the past lives. In the passing of one day we are introduced to two women, one on her deathbed and the other watching over her. We slowly get to meet the youngest of the family line as well as all that came before them. The book centers the lives of women who put through difficult circumstances may turn to the devil and carry the burdens of the family, men and terrible events with whatever means they have. The lines of reality are crossed early as the children are born without vital organs, body parts or with mysterious abilities, as the devil reappears and the house is bursting with all of the stories and time happening at once.
This book is an experience like no other, it is best read patiently, with attention to the beautiful language and extraordinary storytelling. If the title itself makes you curious, you should definitely give this book a read!

Thank you to Granta Publications and NetGalley for the eARC!

I was hooked, lined and sinkered by the book’s title, but then I started to read.
Sounded like a string of magic mushroom hallucinations, with scores of weird women and poo and gore galore. It was like taking a rabid quill for a walk through a Bosch landscape.
Not at all sure what it was all about, if anything.
Sorry to say it did not interest me enough to persevere all the way through.

Grimy, confusing, folkloric fever dream. Strangely compelling and guttural. I'm still not entirely sure what I've just read but I enjoyed the journey.

I Gave You Eyes And You Looked Towards Darkness was my first of Irene Sola’s novels, and I feel I hit the bull’s eye discovering her work. As an advocate for folklore as a necessary cultural expression—so often overlooked, ridiculed, or disregarded—I was immediately engrossed by Sola’s ability to blend so many different themes into an eerie family saga(ish). Every page emits otherworldly secrets rooted in Catalan tradition, drawing readers into a narrative that lingers long after the final line.

Set against the rugged backdrop of the Catalonia mountains, an old farmhouse uncannily watches as the scum of bandits, ghosts, beasts, and demons festers in its soil and air. The story follows a matriarchal family surrounded by many secrets and a cursed legacy that challenges time. Bernadeta is a crone lying in her deathbed when her family and caretakers wander around preparing to throw her a party to celebrate her passing. Told in daring prose, Sola blurs the lines between years—please ignore the book's description or you'll get a spoiler of how many—creating a hypnotic/psychedelic journey that begins with the matriarch Joana trying to double-cross the devil. Needless to say, the devil was not happy, cursing her family for generations to come.

In just under 200 pages, Sola delivers a literary horror that is both atmospheric and richly textured. Drawing from Catalan folklore, her tale oscillates between foreboding and satiric tones, injected with the magical realism of classics like One Hundred Years of Solitude—with a darker twist. The similarities manifest through the numerous characters and generations that at times felt confusing, as there wasn’t much character development or contextual backstory. Although the successive introduction of characters initially felt disorienting, I soon stopped focusing on the individual pieces of the puzzle and realized that this is not a "traditional family saga novel" but rather a twisted exploration of deeper themes and traditions.

The prose is both brutal and evocative, breathing life into her many unlikeable characters, immersing the reader in the dreadful, mysterious, and folkloric narrative that provides moments of both dark humor and discomfort. The author’s note further exposes the many folkloric inspirations and historical events by providing intriguing context that enriches the overall experience. While some may find the convoluted story and the maze of names and generations challenging, these very elements ultimately contribute to the story’s thematic richness. This novel is a must-read for any reader of literary horror, especially those who appreciate layered narratives.

Overall, I Gave You Eyes And You Looked Towards Darkness stands out as a unique novel in the literary horror genre. Though it might not entice every reader, Sola’s distinctive blend of folklore and dark satire makes it a must-read for anyone interested in seeing how contemporary authors are reshaping horror into something both literarily accomplished and compelling. I’m already looking forward to following her future works, and I've already got her highly praised debut novel, When I Sing, Mountains Dance.

<b>Rating: 3.5/5</b>

Domestic horror and a visceral quality to the writing make this a difficult, suffocating read full of myths and folklore and so many women it can be a bit confusing to follow. The folklore, the multiple women thwarted and the relentless on and on and on of lives lived quietly and in suffering. There are powerful descriptions and wonderful stories, in this short and brutal exploration of life and death and everything in between.

I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Toward Darkness
by Irene Solà
Translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem

Dark, dark, dark, but cunning and explicit and titillating, this book is an assault on the senses.

Set in 'Mas Clavell', a farmhouse in the Guilleries of Catalonia, this is one of the weirdest stories I have read in a while, but I haven't been able to look away.

As Bernadeta awaits death, the household prepares a party, but it's the women who went before her that are doing the prep. During the day that the novel is set, they are slaughtering and stripping, soaking and searing, stewing and seasoning, and as the feast is coming together, each of their stories emerges.

Going back several generations, the narrative unspools in the style of oral history, personal accounts mixed with hearsay, folklore and mythology, stories of devils and witches, curses and spells, bandoliers and rebels, but most of all, the women who stayed put, layering upon each other, preserving the lifestyle and traditions.

There are some truly horrific and brutal passages describing butchery (not just of animals), but told with humour and the dead pan manner of those that have seen too much. You'd think it would be difficult to read, but somehow, the tone is pitch perfect.

Part ghost story, part horror, part fairytale, this is a testimony to the sustaining power of women, their urges, their silent suffering, their resilience, their care, their sisterhood and their storytelling.

It's so short, but somehow it crams in four hundred years of history.

Thanks to #Netgalley and #Granta for providing an ARC for review purposes.

I need more time—which I don't have—to think about how the novel used its less than 200 pages. It did a lot. The closest I came to understanding it was the collapse of the past and present, rendering the difference between the mythical, the dead, the dying, and the living uncertain, to say the least. At times, the novel was deliciously disorienting. The mythical, deep past plays a key role, so nature teems with aliveness, albeit not the light kind. It's a goose bump-inducing, pleasurable read. I just wish I had read it in an appropriate season, late autumn, instead of during the first heat-wave of the season, but the climate is a-changing and guess who's to blame.

"Because in the morning a naive woman could believe that the night was ending. But night never ended; it merely waited, hiding, and always returned"
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I've been a bit out of sorts of late. A small missing piece in the machine that makes us operate and live happily in the world feels out of alignment. A loose bolt, a worn washer, a trip in the circuit. Like with all technology and machinery that I struggle to comprehend, I will wait and let time do its unseen magic. 
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In the same way, I'm not entirely sure what was going on in this book. Lost in a setting that both felt painfully real and at the same time ethereal. I'm not even particularly confident in outlining the book because much of it went over my head, or perhaps somehow into my heart. It is deeply poetic with a real strand of folklore running through it. I struggled with the range of characters that wandered languidly through the book. What was happening was at times confusing but somehow deeply beautiful. 
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This is a visceral book, filled with bodily fluids, blood, guts and humanity. At times it is also darkly humorous. The scene in which reticent parents unwilling to approve a marriage where cursed to fits of uproarious farting, was particularly laugh inducing. This is a powerful book about generations of women, toiling on the land and in a world that is deeply violent towards them. I loved it, but I can't really say why I particularly loved it. I can't even really say I understood most of the book. At times I was completely confused. Yet, somehow I very much liked this book and I'm keen to see what Sola does in the future.
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This comes out on the 5th June, and a big thanks to Granta and Netgalley for allowing me an advanced sneak peek.

Thank you to NetGalley and Granta for providing me an eARC to review!

I want to preface this by saying I'm a Lapvona fan so I don't mind gross and weird but this was just really not my thing.

The literary style I found incomprehensible, and just when I thought I knew what was happening the perspective would shift and someone would poop and I'd be lost again. I thought the idea of ghosts trying to interpret modern life interesting, but those glimpses felt so fleeting in the haze of longwinded descriptions of boring or gross stuff it couldn't keep me going.

I am not really sure who the audience is for this but if you like poop and goat butchering boy howdy it's your lucky day!!

This was a haunting narrative that blended folklore, history, and the supernatural as it showed the link between memory, myth, life and death.

In I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Toward Darkness, Irene Solà conjures a raw, unsettling world where myth bleeds into reality and generations of women bear the weight of a centuries-old curse. Told through fractured voices—earthbound, spectral, even animal—the novel resists linearity, instead spiraling through time in a hypnotic, fevered rhythm. Solà’s language is visceral, physical, and strange, rich with rural Catalan texture and elemental force. This isn’t a comforting story—it’s a reckoning: with legacy, with pain, with what it means to inherit a body and a history. Daring, disorienting, and unforgettable.

for beginners, Mariana Enriquez meets (a little bit of) Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead. Gothic, folklorish...literally inviting ghost to gossip with you while u lay down and wait for death, and everybody is feasting outside.

And here kid, why you shouldn't make pact with the devil.

Someone and by that I meant another reader who read this particular novel by Sola had said : 100 years of Solitude, but make it Catalan. And I thought that was the most perfect way to describe and / or sum this up. I can imagine it could get overwhelming to some readers who may not be used to the heavy structure - long lines, long paragraphs - and all that framing grotesque, over the top absurd narrative with a Satanic, biblical tease on top of that. But if you can get over that or get used to that, you'll this quite a rewarding read. Can't say I loved every bit of it. Rendered me sort of breathless having read this quickly with very little breaks.

"What would Satan possibly be doing in Catalonia?"

Many thanks to Granta for a gifted copy of this!

One farmhouse in rural Catalonia witnesses the lives and deaths, triumphs and struggles, of generations of women. Weaving these narratives into hallucinatory and vivid prose, Sola forces us to confront what it means to be woman, family, alive.

A wild ride that puts you through a rollercoaster of emotions: disgust, despair, anger, awe, reflection. I immediately loved this book for its unflinching, raw depiction of female relationships, it really reached the heart of the matter for me.

Over time, this slightly waned in its effect - abstract sometimes veers into incomprehensible (and I am usually a lover of experimental and non-linear narratives!) As we span through the chronology if each daughter, the religious myth grows, contorts, deforms - it was, at times, hard to decipher or distinguish which women we were talking about (perhaps the point, but it didn't quite land, if so.)

That being said, this was genuine and heartfelt, violent and uncompromising - a narrative that is like scratching a scab. Definitely Carter-esque, this is earthy and rich with layers of meaning and revelatory takes on the female experience and gender - not for the the faint-hearted or squeamish!