WENLING’S

From the winner of St Jordi Prize. The perfect combination of literary fiction & feminist journalism. A warm-hearted ode to female friendship. "Set in vibrant, multilingual Barcelona, Ruiz Pala's Wenling's is an immersive, light-hearted and beautifully contemplative novel that explores gender, language and cultural identity." - The Publishing Post Originally from China, Wenling arrived in Barcelona looking for a better life. With no knowledge of the local languages, she managed to open a salon. Our unnamed narrator is one of Wenling's frequent customers, a documentary producer that takes carefully note of everything and everyone around her. As time passes by, a friendship grows between the two women. Through their conversations, Wenling's story unfolds at the salon, where we also discover the hidden lives of the many customers that frequent the place. Rachel Doyle and Tippi Hedren, and their contribution to the beauty industry have also a place in this book, as well as the bunch of hard-working women that made the beauty industry flourish. And just like that, Wenling's nail salon becomes the crossroad for a myriad of women's stories and female complicity. AUTHOR: Gemma Ruiz Pala (Sabadell, 1975) is a Catalan journalist and writer. Her first novel, Argelagues (2016), was a great success in Spain. Wenling's is her second novel, for which she spent years visiting nail salons incognito to capture their conversations, atmosphere and vibes. Her third novel, Our Mothers (2023), won the Sant Jordi Prize in 2022. This was the first time in nineteen years that a woman had received the prize.