Lost Luggage

This is the story of Gabriel Delacruz, orphan, international furniture remover and father to four sons. Four boys – born in four different countries to four different mothers; one German, one English, one French and one Spanish, and all christened the local equivalent of the name Christopher. They are not aware of each other’s existence, and none of them have seen their father for a couple of decades.

The ‘Four Christophers’ finally meet when the youngest, Cristòfol is contacted by the police when his father goes missing. He finds a piece of paper with the details of his brothers on. The Christophers meet to learn each others stories, and also to research their father – they don’t believe he’s dead.

The brothers take their show more turns to tell their stories. How their mothers met Gabriel, their births, and those rare visits throughout their childhood. Although they are very different, they all get on well, making up for lost time. Their mothers were all independent women and despite the lack of a permanent father figure in their lives, they have made the most of things. They start meeting regularly to talk, and search out Gabriel’s friends and acquaintances to help fill in the gaps.

Alongside Gabriel’s unfolding story was that of his fellow orphan and colleague Bundo. Together since their days in the ophanage, their undying friendship was the most touching part of this story. Whereas Gabriel had a woman in each port so to speak, there was only ever one girl for Bundo but he had to share her, for Carolina was a prostitute in a roadhouse outside Lyon.

One of the naughty but interesting things that Gabriel and Bundo did together along with fellow removers was to always remove one random box from the contents of each move. They’d share out the contents, and Gabriel catalogued them – over 200 boxes in total over their career. One of those boxes had contained a ventriloquist’s dummy, which Gabriel passed on to his German son, Christof, who called it Christofini. The dummy kept butting into Christof’s part of the narrative, which did give a slightly surreal edge to things.

I particularly loved reading about Gabriel and Bundo and their exploits through the years, lovable rogues both, always up for a chance to make a bit on the side or a game of cards. The sons’ stories weren’t as exciting in comparison, and as I read on, I did hope that they’d make progress on finding Gabriel, for at 473 pages, this is rather a long book. I won’t let on what finally happens, for this was a charming story told with humour, and you may want to find it out for yourself. Despite its length, Punti has created some memorable characters in this debut novel and I enjoyed the travels and travails of Gabriel, his friends and extended family a great deal. (8.5/10) show less

I definitely got swept up in this. The story was captivating, and it was beautifully told. Since I had just been in Barcelona I loved the references to the city, but I would have enjoyed the book just as much if I hadn't been there.
Four young men, all raised by single mothers in Europe, learn they are half brothers when their father disappears and the police find their names and addresses in his apartment. Thus begins a journey to discover their father's history. Through their mothers, their father's acquaintances, and papers they find in the apartment they learn that he was a foundling who was raised in an orphanage and, once grown, worked for a moving company beside his best friend and orphan brother. They traveled Europe moving show more highly connected Spaniards, and Gabriel fell into relationships with three young women, all of which produced a son. He named all of them a version of Christopher. He visited each when he could until the visits ended abruptly and with no explanation. What they learn about his story makes it all make sense. show less

A curious tale of 4 men who meet when they learn they are 1/2 brothers whose father has disappeared in Barcelona. Each son was born in a different country to a single woman who then raised her son alone, with some early contact with the father. He, Gabriel, was a furniture removalist who lived in Barcelona. When he disappears his sons, after contact by the police with the Spanish son, gather over some months to try to unravel his past, their intersection with his life and his current whereabouts. Covered some of the Franco influence on Spain as well the Catalan independence issues.

Lost Luggage: A Novel by Jordi Puntí is the tangled tale of four half-brothers who come together to unravel the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of their father, Gabriel Delacruz Expósito, who disappeared more than 20 years ago.

It is a fascinating and hilarious story and you'll go along with Jordi Punti across Europe as he takes you to the cities where the half-brothers lived - Frankfurt, Paris, London, and Barcelona. Just imagine four half-brothers, spread all over Europe, all bearing different forms of the name Christopher, not knowing each other, but with a common father who abandoned them all, working together to peel off layers after layers of mysteries to get to the bottom of the story on how they all got the same show more name.

The story begins when one of the half-brothers named Christòfol was called in by police officers investigating his almost-forgotten father's abandoned flat. He soon discovers files revealing that he has half brothers in London, Paris, and Frankfurt - named Christof, Christophe, and Christopher.

The original version of the book is in Catalan, which won several awards in Spain. Readable, enjoyable but at times painful, Lost Luggage is a delight to read. Readers will enjoy going through the story of Gabriel Delacruz, an orphan and and a truck driver, along with his best friend Bundo, based in Barcelona, criss-crossed Europe with Petroli, meeting different sorts of women, and in the process developing intimate relationships, which in the case of Gabriel resulted in the birth of his sons.

Lost Luggage is both fun and painful. But all the same, it's an exciting read! show less

DNF...I gave it a shot and I really wanted to like it because the premise of the book sounded interesting. This just moved way too slow for me. The four brothers, they felt flat and I just could not connect to them. I don't like giving up on a book so maybe some day in the future I'll pick up the book and give it another try (an eternal optimist, what can I say).

Seis años después de la muy elogiada colección de relatos Animales tristes, Jordi Puntí demuestra su talento para la ficción de largo alcance con esta particular «novela de carretera»: una historia conmovedora, descarnada y cargada de un humor sutil, que ahonda en las vidas de un pequeño grupo de personajes en una Barcelona sofocada por el manto gris de la dictadura y deseosa de incorporarse a la modernidad europea. Cuando el escurridizo barcelonés Gabriel Delacruz —huérfano, transportista y jugador empedernido— desaparece del mapa, sus cuatro hijos «cristóbales», que viven repartidos por Europa e ignoran la existencia de sus hermanos, se conocen y empiezan a atar los cabos de la historia de su padre. A medida que show more avanza la narración, el complejo retablo de una vida adquiere progresivamente profundidad, produciendo en el lector la misma fascinación que el propio Gabriel ejerce en quienes han tenido trato con él, en las mujeres que lo han amado y en los hijos que llevan esperándolo toda una vida. show less

Tenim e mateix record.
És molt d’hora. Acaba de sortir el sol. Tots tres —pare, mare i fill— badallem de son. La mare ha fet te, o cafè amb llet, I ens el bevem perquè sí. Som al menjador, o a la cuina, tan quiets i en silenci que semblem estàtues. Els ulls se’ns tanquen. Aviat escoltem un camió que s’atura al davant de casa i fa sonar un cop el clàxon. Tot i que l’esperàvem, el rugit és tan greu que ens espanta i ens desvetlla. Els vidres de les finestres tremolen un segon. Els veïns es deuen haver despertat. Sortim al carrer a acomiadar el nostre pare, que puja al camió, treu el braç per la finestra i assaja un somriure mentre ens fa adéu. Es nota que li sap greu anar-se’n. O no. Només s’ha estat dos dies show more a casa, tres coma màxim. Els seus dos companys, dalt del camió, ens criden i també ens fan adéu amb la mà. El temps passa a càmera lenta. El Pegaso es posa en marxa i s’allunya pesadament, com si també li fes mandra. La mare porta un batí i potser se li escapa una llàgrima, potser no. Nosaltres, els fills, anem en pijama i sabatilles i el fred ens glaça els peus. Entrem a casa I ens fiquem un altre cop al llit, que encara conserva una mica d’escalfor, però ja no ens tornem a dormir per culpa dels pensaments. El cap no para. Tenim tres, quatre, cinc set anys, i hem viscut la mateixa escena unes quantes vegades. Aleshores no ho sabem, però aquest és l’últim cop que veiem el nostre pare.
Tenim el mateix record. show less