The Art of Wearing a Trench Coat

“The Art of Wearing a Trench Coat by Sergi Pàmies is a tremendous work of literature. I was charmed by these honest, hilarious, and masterfully crafted short stories. I stayed up late into the night, devouring this slim volume in one sitting. These thirteen stories are searing with insight, offering reflections on love and regret, and an understanding of the human heart that builds throughout the book’s pages. My only disappointment is that I hadn’t read anything by Pàmies before. I am grateful for this work and for its exquisite translation by Adrian Nathan West.” —Kali Fajardo-Anstine, author of Sabrina & Corina, National Book Award Finalist

“In The Art of Wearing a Trench Coat Pàmies elegantly exposes the connection between the personal and the political with an extraordinary mixture of pathos, regret, affection, and bitterness. Loves, ideals, eras are all compromised, adored, lost and then found and lost again in short stories that resonate far beyond the page—one gets the feeling that an entire lifetime of sensitivity and reflection has been compressed into prose as polished and prismatic as a diamond. This is a work deeply engaged with life through both the heart and the mind; a total delight in every dimension.” —Maryse Meijer, author of The Seventh Mansion and Rag: Stories

“Sergi Pàmies’ exquisite story collection The Art of Wearing a Trench Coat is an experience of the heart and mind. Beautifully translated by Adrian Nathan West, the thirteen stories here render a life in brief glimpses and longer meditations, in ways that feel both comfortingly familiar and startlingly new: Random strangers meet, but what does it mean for them to part? Loved ones die, but what does it mean to truly let go? In a world where we’ve become more and more isolated, and at a time when human connection feels increasingly less human, Pàmies’ stories arrive at the perfect moment. This is a book I didn’t know I needed, and I’m so grateful that it’s here.” —Lysley Tenorio, author of The Son of Good Fortune and Monstress

“Pàmies is honest and profound, but he never abandons lightness and irony, to which he adds a great ability for observation and a particular talent for tenderness.” —Letras Libres

“Pàmies’s work represents the summit of the contemporary short story.” —L’Avenç

“Pàmies has shown extraordinary skill…One of our best living short story writers has started a whole new stage.” —La Llança