Plants Don't Drink Coffee by Unai Elorriaga (Translated from the Spanish by Amaia Gabantxo)

Four stories narrated from four different perspectives crisscross throughout this poignant and playful novel. Young Tomas – who wants above all else to be intelligent – embarks upon a dizzying search for a rare blue dragonfly, of which he believes there are only nine or ten in the world (and therefore probably only two or three in his town). Drawing us into the channels of his mercurial mind, skipping through misadventures and stumbling upon a host of small wonders, we are introduced to three generations of his motley family tree and accompany them on their odd quests. From the moonlit creation of a rugby field on a golf course, to the unearthing of the escapades of his anarchist grandfather, a celebrated carpenter, the medley of tales flips on their heads standard assumptions about age, wisdom, sensibility, and truth, inviting us to open our eyes to the bounty of tiny marvels that make up our world.

Unai Elorriaga was born in 1973 in Bilbao, where he is currently a professor at the Instituto Labairu. He is the author of three novels written in Basque and self-translated into Spanish, including Van’t Hoffen ilea (Van’t Hoff ’s Hair), and his 2002 debut, SPrako Tranbia (A Tram to SP), winner of Spain’s prestigious Premio Nacional de Narrativa. Elorriaga’s numerous anthologized short stories have also been widely acclaimed. Amaia Gabantxo is a literary translator, writer, and book critic. Her work has appeared in a variety of journals and newspapers, including the Times Literary Supplement and The Independent. Her translation of Anjel Lertxundi’s Perfect Happiness was released by the University of Nevada Press in 2007. Gabantxo moonlights as a flamenco singer.