Presentation of the book That summer in the middle of time

Twenty years have passed, and the architect Àlex Umbert returns to La Gironda to take over the family home and open an architectural studio there. Twenty years since that summer that changed everything.

We go back some time, when Àlex is thirteen years old, at the end of June. The ceramist Julià Marès, widowed for half a year, suffers a fall that aggravates the depression of grief. His daughter, Aina, and his grandson, Alex, move to the manor house to spend the summer there and take care of him. The boy, with a very precocious sensibility, has a hard time with the silence of his parents, who hide the marital crisis from him. For her part, Aina rediscovers village life and faces her own difficulties alone, while her father’s health does not seem to improve.

As the days pass, grandfather and grandson tighten their bond: Julià opens up to the boy, becoming aware of a degradation that brings him closer to old age. And everything pushes Àlex, until then reserved and alien, to come out of his bubble. It will be Roc Cabanes, the grandfather’s cousin, who will discover his origins and make him finally wake up to adult life.

During the presentation, Isidre Grau will talk to him literary critic and writer Joan Josep Isern.

The event can be followed on InstagramLive in the Documenta Bookstore’s Instagram channel.

Last update: 12/05/2026