'What's so funny?' A friend finally asked me since I constantly giggling and eventually burst a laugh, which I think quite loud since people in the cafe turning their heads toward our table. I need few minutes to answer it since I couldn't stop laughing. 'Gosh,' I said, 'this Gurb's commander is knocking his female neighbour's door every five minutes asking stuff for his cooking until she gave him 2,000 pesetas and told him to go and eat in a restaurant and leave her in peace!' Gurb and his commander [the narrator of the story:] are shapeshifter creatures from another galaxy. Gurb took the appearance of Madonna, whilst his commander keep changing his appearances due to specific circumstances and of course after consulting the Earth catalogue. His journey to locate Gurb, who is missing, also became a learning process on Catalan exotic yet complicated lifestyle.However as mas Ronny said in his review, for those [read: me] who have never been in Barcelona, I'm a bit lost in space. I knew nothing about the city apart of their famous and super rich football club [again soccer is not an appropiate term:] FC Barcelona. I don't think it's a coincidence I'm finishing this book whilst Barcelona is trashing Gijon at Camp Nou on Monday early morning at my local time. Despite my passion for Liverpool FC, I always wish we play as beautifully as Barcelona does first under Frank Rijkaard and now Pep Guardiola. Notes, find out who these characters whose appearance are copied by Gurb's commander:Madonna?Madonna Louise Ciccone a.k.a Madonna for some people is regarded as one of the greatest pop icon, born from French-Canadian mother and Italian American father, recently divorced from one of my favourite movie director -Guy Ritchie-, and she speaks English as if she's a native Londoners. Gary Cooper?Gary Cooper was one of American actors early in movie industrial history. To be honest I haven't watched any of his movies and even if I did, I bet I didn't know it was him. Cary Grant?Look above. The only difference is Grant was a British-born American actor who possessed a longer list of marriages and divorces.Pope Pius XII?Born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli reigned as the 260th pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City, from March 2, 1939 until his death in 1958. Pius XII contributed to the rebuilding of Europe, and advocated peace and reconciliation, including lenient policies toward vanquished nations and the unification of Europe. Admiral Yamamoto?Admiral Yamamoto was the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II, a graduate of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and a student of the U.S. Naval War College and of Harvard University. He was one of important figures in World War II history. Delia Smith?Delia Smith is one of the majority shareholder at Norwich City F.C. She's also a UK's best-selling cookery author. No wonder Gurb's commander consults one of her recipes. Anyway, a friend of mine, Nicola or Niknak who is a Canaries -nickname for Norwich supporters just like her father Colin, once showed me a video when Delia cried out, well more likely screamed to the top of her lung, during the half time game against Citeh -a nickname made by some mates for Manchester City in 2005. She was probably drunk when she yelled, 'Message for the best football supporters in the world: we need a 12th man here. Where are you? Where are you? Let's be having you! Come on!' It's more horrible when you saw it on youtube, believe me!Niknak hates her, well she hates everything about the board and management and the fact that they loaned their good ground talents to other clubs and have mediocre players instead. One good think Delia sacked Glenn Roeder who was responsible for all, well most, disasters occurred to Norwich City!***'Apaan sih yang segitu lucunya?' Akhirnya teman nongkrong itu bertanya padaku setelah dari tadi melihatku cekikikan hingga akhirnya tawaku pun meledak. 'Ndak, ini komandannya si Gurb mengetuk pintu apartemen tetangganya setiap lima menit minta bahan-bahan untuk masakannya. Mungkin karena kesal dan sudah larut malam, akhirnya si tetangga memberikannya uang 2.000 peseta untuk makan di restoran dan jangan mengganggunya lagi!' Jawabku setelah akhirnya bisa berhenti tertawa.Gurb dan komandannya, narator cerita ini, adalah dua alien dari galaksi berbeda, dan bisa berubah wujud sesuai yang mereka inginkan. Gurb menjadi Madonna, sementara komandannya selalu mengubah wujudnya sesuai mood tentunya setelah mengecek database penghuni bumi. Perjalanan sang komandan mencari Gurb yang hilang sekaligus menjadi proses pembelajaran kehidupan masyarakat Catalan yang eksotis walau rumit baginya.Sayangnya seperti yang disebutkan mas Ronny di reviewnya soal buku ini, aku yang belum pernah ke Barcelona merasa kebingungan akut dan terasing. Satu-satunya hal yang aku kenali dari kota ini adalah tim sepakbolanya yang kaya dan terkenal, FC Barcelona. Rasanya bukan kebetulan saat aku menyelesaikan buku ini Barcelona menghancurkan Sporting Gijon di Camp Nou. Walau aku fans berat Liverpool FC, aku selalu berharap tim kesayanganku itu bisa bermain seindah Barcelona baik ketika ditangani oleh Frank Rijkaard maupun Pep Guardiola sekarang.Catatan, ada baiknya mencari tahu sejumlah tokoh yang wujudnya ditiru oleh sang komandan.Madonna?Terlahir dengan nama Madonna Louise Ciccone dari seorang ibu berdarah Perancis-Kanada dan ayah berdarah Italia-Amerika. Bagi sebagian orang dianggap ikon pop terhebat dan baru saja bercerai dari Guy Ritchie, salah satu sutradara favoritku. Logat Londoner-nya layak diganjar Oscar!Gary Cooper?Salah satu bintang film lama Amerika. Rasanya aku belum pernah menonton film-filmnya, dan seandainya pernah aku yakin tidak mengenali kalau itu dia!Cary Grant?Idem. Satu-satunya perbedaan adalah Grant kelahiran Inggris dan punya riwayat pernikahan dan perceraian yang lebih banyak!Paus Pius XII?Terlahir sebagai Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Pacelli dan terpilih menjadi Paus ke 260, pemimpin Gereja Katolik Roma sejak 02 Maret 1939 hingga wafatnya di tahun 1958. Pius XII memberikan kontribusi kebangkitan kembali Eropa serta menyampaikan misi perdamaian dan rekonsiliasi [paska perang dunia:], termasuk bersikap lunak terhadap bangsa-bangsa yang menguasai dan mendorong penyatuan Eropa.Admiral Yamamoto?Admiral Yamamoto merupakan Panglima Tertinggi Armada Gabungan Angkatan Laut Jepang saat Perang Dunia II. Lulusan Akademi Angkatan Laut Jepang, Akademi Perang Angkatan Laut Amerika serta lulusan Universitas Harvard. Salah satu tokoh penting dalam sejarah Perang Dunia II.Delia Smith?Salah satu pemegang saham utama klub sepakbola Liga Championship Inggris, Norwich City F.C. Juga salah satu penulis buku resep terkenal di Inggris, makanya tidak heran komandan Gurb mencoba salah satu resepnya.Berbicara tentang Delia Smith mengingatkanku pada seorang teman dari Inggris. Nicola atau yang akrab dipanggil Niknak adalah seorang Canaries -sebutan bagi para pendukung Norwich City- sama seperti ayahnya, Colin. Pernah satu hari Niknak menunjukkan sebuah video di mana Delia Smith, di tengah jeda pertandingan antara Norwich dengan Citeh -sebutan beberapa teman bagi klub Manchester City- merebut mikrofon dan berteriak, 'Pesan bagi para pendukung terhebat sepakbola di dunia: kita membutuhkan orang ke-12 di sini. Di mana kalian? Di mana kalian?' Diduga Delia sedang mabuk saat itu. Teriakan tersebut lebih mengerikan jika dilihat di youtube, percaya deh!Niknak membenci Delia, suaminya (pemegang saham mayoritas juga) dan semua orang yang duduk di manajemen klub yang meminjamkan pemain-pemain lokal mereka yang bagus ke klub lain dan memainkan pemain kelas teri. Tidak heran Norwich harus berjuang keras tidak terdegradasi ke League One.
Sin Noticias de Gurb {No Word from Gurb in English} is one of those books that you could kick yourself for not thinking of the idea first. It is a diary of messages sent by an extraterrestrial who comes to earth, takes on human form(s), and dryly narrates what he discovers about life here on earth—or at least life in Barcelona. Upon landing in Barcelona the unnamed leader sends his underling, Gurb, out to explore the terrain. Gurb immediately goes AWOL and most of the book concerns the leader’s search for his partner as it takes two beings to drive their spaceship. While looking for Gurb the leader comments on dozens and dozens of aspects of life in this corner of the world. No hay en toda la Tierra gente más aficionada al trabajo que los catalanes. Si supieran hacer algo, se harían los amos del mundo.No one on earth enjoys work more than Catalonians. If they knew how to do something they would rule the world.It is laugh-out-loud funny in many, many parts and even more so if you happen to be something of an outsider yourself but have been in Spain just long enough to recognize some of the more absurd aspects of modern Spanish/Catalán society. There is a little bit of Gurb in anyone who has ever lived in another country.
Do You like book Sin Noticias De Gurb (2001)?
Barcellona preolimpica 1992. Due alieni atterrano per studiare gli umani. Loro (i due alieni) sono intelligenza pura, non hanno forma e loro (gli umani) una forma ce l’hanno. L’intelletto non si sa.Consultato il Catalogo Astrale Terrestre Indicativo di Forme Assimilabili (CA-TIFA) il nostro eroe sceglie per il suo compagno Gurb l'aspetto dell'essere umano denominato Marta Sànchez. Gurb-Marta, dopo il primo contatto con un abitante della zona, scompare.Al compagno non rimane che darsi da fare per trovarlo, districandosi fra incomprensibili usanze e terrene sventure.E mentre cerca di ritrovare il suo compagno, il nostro alieno osserva questi umani, che si dividono, fra l’altro, in ricchi e poveri, divisione cui danno molta importanza e la cui differenza si può riassumere così: i ricchi non pagano mai, i poveri pagano anche per sudare. I ricchi vivono meglio dei poveri, sono più alti e belli, si divertono di più, ricevono una migliore istruzione, viaggiano, lavorano meno, hanno più agi, sono sepolti con maggior fasto e ricordati per più tempo. Una cosa che invece è comune a ricchi e poveri è che pare inspirino ed espirino aria con un procedimento automatico denominato respirare.Altra stranezza è che attraversano tre fasi di sviluppo. Quelli nella prima fase si chiamano bambini, quelli nella seconda lavoratori, quelli nella terza pensionati. I bambini eseguono gli ordini, i lavoratori fanno altrettanto ma vengono pagati per questo, i pensionati vengono pagati ma non gli si lascia far nulla. A dire il vero c’è anche una quarta fase, non retribuita, quella di cadavere, ma è meglio non parlarne.Gli incontri si succedono dando modo al nostro extraterrestre di annotare sul suo diario ogni dato rilevante sulla vita terrestre mentre prosegue nella ricerca di Gurb.Veloce, ritmato, ironico e squinternato. Si ride e si sorride.
—Pat
Un alienígena se infiltra camuflado en la Barcelona preolímpica para buscar a su compañero de viajes. La comedia es una crítica sin sentido a las costumbres de vida humanas en la que seguimos las peripecias diarias del alien protagonista por un terreno hostil como es la Tierra. Desternillante hasta puntos insospechables y de una duración tan breve que no va a cansar a nadie, es una buena opción para leer algo diferente. Como siempre, Mendoza es único.
—Luis
De una sentada; en esto podría resumir mi experiencia con este libro. Había leído ya algunas cosas de Mendoza, y sabía que esta era una de sus obras más conocidas y mejor valoradas, pero no suelo leer ciencia ficción. Así pues, no sabía muy bien qué me esperaba. Pero al empezar las primeras páginas del libro he visto que no me ha dejado indiferente. Con un humor irónico y sarcástico y una prosa magníficas, Mendoza consigue hacer reír a cada página que va pasando del libro. Sin duda, de lo mejor que he leído este año.
—Alma Ludgate
