The Eldest Cousin

Original Title: La cosina gran

Publication: 2019

Author: Laura Gost

A coming of age story of a girl into womanhood, and an entangled love triangle set against a Mediterranean backdrop.

Rosa is only twelve years old when her older cousin is orphaned, and she is forced to share a room with her. After the hasty move, the protagonist soon finds that her cousin represents everything she refuses to tolerate; Tina is an irresponsible, ungrateful and troublesome girl. But, little by little, Rosa will begin to realize that behind the things that repel her from Tina hides something that she longs for herself: to be an extroverted, powerful and sexy young woman capable of leaving her mark on the daily life of the Mediterranean town they live in.

It will be precisely these differences that will determine the adolescent years of both, that time when ingenuity and maturity mix so crudely. A clash of mentalities that will be fully unleashed with the arrival of the three members of the Montsó family to the neighborhood. Can a love triangle shake the relationship the two cousins have with the world, femininity and themselves?

The Eldest Cousin handles this coming of age story with the clarity and narrative intelligence of a Goya-winning screenwriter. Laura Gost is here to stay.

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Covers

Original Language

CATALAN | Lleonard Muntaner
CATALAN (Audio) | Audible

Translation Rights

GREEK | World Books
ITALIAN | DeA Planeta Libri Narrativa
SPANISH | Temas de Hoy / Planeta

Film Rights

Film rights sold to A Contracorriente Films.

Reviews

"This debut novel by Laura Gost has no other pretense than to bring the reader on this bildungsroman, without complications or flourishes and using almost cinematographic techniques." Míriam Cano, Núvol

"A journey of adolescence well directed by Laura Gost: without simplifications, honestly, without moralisms and with a rich and intricate style that is a pleasure to read. It’s Gost’s first novel … she has got our attention and is sure to surprise us again." Joan de Boer

"You know you are in the presence of a great novel when you grow up whilst reading it. An impeccable demonstration of the mastery of rhythm, formal simplicity and immense humanity. A wonderful surprise." Jordi Cabré

"The technique of perspective and the visceral language used in The Eldest Cousin create the sensation of looking at a book and reading a movie. Highly memorable." Sebastià Portell

"Laura Gost presents us with a first novel of introspective spirit and psychological soul." Pere Joan Martorell

“We’ll be hearing a lot about Laura Gost. All Good.” Lluís Llort, El Punt Avui

"The truth is, Gost … has begun a career that seems both unstoppable and without falter." Nacho Jiménez

"Laura Gost broadens her career as a transverse writer with an adult serenity, which is far from the urgency to grow up that dominates Rosa, her first literary protagonist." Clàudia Darder, Diario de Mallorca

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