Hotel Kempinsky

Originally published in Catalan, this deeply urban novel takes place in Madrid, Barcelona, and Berlin, with the inner workings of the international independent film industry serving as its backdrop—a sector the two authors know well. The protagonists are two completely antagonistic women: Raquel Grau and Claudia Plotkin. Raquel is the owner of an independent art house cinema in Barcelona, fighting for professional recognition and survival, while Claudia is a Californian executive living in Madrid, who works for a powerful American film distributor.

Due to professional circumstances—or, as some might say, "destiny"—these two opposite poles, with their distinct and opposing perspectives, meet on a flight to Berlin and form a friendship. At the Hotel Kempinsky in the city, they both realize that despite their obvious differences, something stronger and more intense unites them, drawing them closer and making them resemble reflections in a mirror: an insistent dissatisfaction, a feeling of "something more" that each of them feels as a lost and longed-for part of themselves.

Hotel Kempinsky is a romantic comedy, not without its touches of melodrama, that brings together love and a look back at the journey traveled and the decisions made along the way. Ana Simón Cerezo and Marta Balletbó-Coll are the authors of this "four-hand novel," and they explain how this was possible in the book's prologue.

Before Hotel Kempinsky, Ana Simón had already ventured into the world of literature, publishing several poems and short stories in various magazines. For her part, Marta Balletbó adapted her acclaimed debut feature film, Costa Brava, into a novel in English. The film received numerous accolades, including the City of Barcelona Award, the Special Quality Award from the Ministry of Culture, and the Audience Award at various gay/lesbian film festivals.

"There you have it—an idea for a lesbian romantic comedy!"