Let’s Meet in Barcelona is a heartfelt journey through prose, poetry, and reflections that capture moments of transformation, vulnerability, and self-discovery. Gabrijela Situm shares her personal story as an immigrant, navigating love, growth, and the search for clarity in a new world. The book invites readers to reflect on their own experiences, featuring questions and illustrations that deepen the journey.
Let’s Meet in Barcelona is a heartfelt journey through prose, poetry, and reflections that capture moments of transformation, vulnerability, and self-discovery. Gabrijela Situm shares her personal story as an immigrant, navigating love, growth, and the search for clarity in a new world. The book invites readers to reflect on their own experiences, featuring questions and illustrations that deepen the journey.
I greeted you with my whole heart.
I listened to you with excitement, eager to meet and understand you.
I looked at you with admiration.
I believed your words, not your actions.
I called you, hoping you would listen to my needs.
I wondered if you ever thought about me.
I cared because I saw potential.
I hugged you, thinking you would heal quicker.
I gave in because I trusted you.
I loved you because I had enough love to give.
I expected a lot and was disappointed many times.
I hoped that what we had in my head was real.
I even saw us having children together.
I stayed because you needed me, and I needed you.
I waited for you because you needed space.
But this was just one stop on both of our journeys.
One thing I didn’t do was dream because my instinct didn’t allow me.
People come and go. That is how we grow.
Learn from everyone, and welcome a few.
Thank you to Gabrijela Šitum and Reedsy Discovery for the Advanced Reader Copy of this title. Keep reading for my review of the book.
With Let’s Meet in Barcelona by Gabrijela Šitum, the title alone was more than enough to grab my attention. I selected this book just before flying out to visit one of my favorite cities in the world – yes, Barcelona. Part of me was hoping to keep a little of the city with me long after I returned, but the rest of me was curious about the depiction of transformation, vulnerability, and self-discovery we were promised in the synopsis. I was also looking forward to more than just a poetry book but also to some profound reflections from an author who presented as having shaken up her world looking for somewhere to settle and call home.
I found the poetry interesting. Though it reflected on some low points with whom I perceived to be one lover or another, the message was confident, forceful, and blunt. Sure, the poems take us back to the moment in question, but the writer writes with hindsight. By the time the poems conclude, we have glimpsed the past, but also Šitum’s current state of mind which reveals a stronger, more self-assured person.
The book starts strongly with the poem, ‘Welcome’. Not only does the title immediately speak to the reader and invite them to stay, but it reflects on giving oneself over entirely to another who ultimately did not deserve all the love, time, and energy pumped into them. This poem was followed up with the punchy, ‘You know where the door is, I would appreciate it if you left.’ I particularly liked the structure, which admittedly, did not appeal to me at first, but after several rereads, I found the multiple collections of three bold words to be steppingstones and reflection points. Again, as mentioned above, there is that glimpse of the negative past, but we finish with the author knowing their worth and clinging to the positive outcome they seek.
Although at the time of reading the book I showed no interest in the reflection points Šitum built into the book, I appreciated that they were there and that they invited the reader to take stock of their own feelings on the topic at hand.
I thought some of the earlier titles could often have been more inventive. They were frequently long and encompassed the last line of the poem/prose they were for, e.g., ‘I lost my love for my old home so that I could build a new one,’ other than that, they were fitting and gave an idea of what to expect.
What intrigued me most about the book was the artwork. The book opens with an image; a series of lines and shapes. Those lines go on to found the future images, all of which I loved. I was not always sure what they were meant to represent but I loved the simplicity in the black and white drawings and how they transformed from one picture to the next.
All in all, the book was an interesting read. ‘Sand is everywhere’ probably made me think of Barcelona the most, particularly the concluding verse but I enjoyed reading of broken hearts, the moving from one place to another, and trying new experiences, often in a fairly subtle rather than overt way with the latter mentioned subjects. I did not feel there was any specific order. Instead, the poems and reflections were placed as abstract as some of the illustrations. The book probably suits a late teen/young adult audience who are still dipping their toes in new experiences and embarking on adulting. I wasn’t totally enamored with the book, but it is definitely worth a read. I was appreciative of the fact that when affairs of the heart were dealt with, it took a more grown-up stance to what I generally see in independent publishing. I also appreciated that the author departed from extensive use of rhyme which meant her poetry and pose could take whatever shape she wanted it to without being forced.