Andorran Author Iñaki Rubio Unveils Short Story Collection Friccions

Andorran author Iñaki Rubio returns to short fiction with Friccions, a collection of 23 stories published by Medusa that revisits themes from his earlier works while exploring disruptions in reality, identity and connections.

The book, due out on 14 September, divides into three parts: "El membre fantasma", "Estampes" and "Interferències". It builds on motifs from previous titles including Trencadís (2012), L’altre costat del mirall (2014) and Bestiari pirinenc (2021), blending classic tales, literary miniatures and modern uncanny narratives.

Stories draw from familiar daily situations, introducing slight shifts that unsettle perceptions. Recurring ideas cover identity, doubles, memory, technology, possible lives, emotional bonds and how individuals shape their self-stories. The opening section gathers longer pieces on absences, splits and clashing identities. "Estampes" offers brief vignettes from everyday gestures and scenes, while "Interferències" probes technology's, fiction's and self-projections' effects on reality.

Rubio, who began with short stories, takes up the form again after novels and novelized chronicles like Morts, qui us ha mort? and Pau de Gósol. The volume sustains threads from his past output, such as reflections, parallel existences, absent presences, daily metamorphoses and reality-fiction boundaries.

He views the genre as ideal for freedom and trials, unlike the limits of recent non-fiction. "I've never stopped writing short stories," Rubio noted. "It's where I feel most comfortable and can test ideas quickly before applying them to larger projects." Spanning years—some from 2017 or 2018—the pieces underwent extensive revisions. "The key to writing is rewriting," he said. "You return to a text years later as a different person, seeing new possibilities."

A unifying element places figures amid life's tense frictions. "We strive for coherence, but existence is full of tiny shifts that unsettle reality," Rubio observed. These instances mix the ordinary and strange, questioning routine discontent.

Some reflect his writerly uncertainties, like self-plagiarism worries. He favors "La germana invisible" as an early novel kernel, postponed by other work. Publishing with an Andorran house after time away carries weight, he said, crediting Medusa.

To newcomers, he recommends: "It's easy to read, entertaining and revealing—like changing your glasses to see the surprises in daily life."