Gnu

An ode to secrets, missteps, mistakes, and contradictions. An illuminating anti-self-help book.

“The most suspicious thing about solutions is that they are always found whenever they’re wanted.” This phrase by Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio opens an exceptional book that is as brilliant as it is unclassifiable. Somewhere between a novel, an autobiography, and a philosophical essay, Pau Luque summons a gallery of extravagant and gentle characters in order to think about the uncertainty that characterizes all human existence with them: beautiful Italians with unknown occupations, frustrated boxers, teenagers with chaotic teeth, clandestine poets, Ignatius of Loyola emulators, philosophers overwhelmed by the most trivial practical questions, or confused swingers wander and ramble through the streets of Barcelona, Genoa, Mexico City, and Vilafranca. These are grimy, dazzling creatures that confront problems that are ordinary but also transcendental.

When faced with simple solutions (like the “ñu” [gnu] often used in Spanish crosswords to fill in gaps; almost a joke among aficionados) and manual recipes, Pau Luque writes an ode to secrets, mistakes, and even contradictions. Ñu is an illuminating anti-self-help book. 

«Pau Luque knows that something new can only be found by moving between genres. Ñu, a book that is against solutions, seems to rebel against its topic and impose itself as an answer to a question we hadn’t asked ourselves. Lucidity, humor, and a one-of-a-kind style. An unmissable book.» (Emiliano Monge)

«A philosophy book that makes you laugh. (…) I’m emerging from it smiling, humble, and with my stomach hurting a little from laughing and my heart hurting because it has grown.» (Berta García Faet)

«With this hilarious and unexpected book, Pau Luque announces the possibility of a philosophy made out of flesh and blood.» (Jazmina Barrera)