Camilo José Cela

This is a companion volume to the collections of Soviet, German, Italian, and French short stories which have already appeared in Penguin Parallel Texts. The stories selected are representative, of contemporary writing in Spanish from all parts, and seven of the eight included are the work of Spanish-American authors. The literal English translations, together with the notes and biographies of the writers, are intended to help English-speaking students of Spanish; but the book can also be enjoyed by readers with a knowledge of either language and an interest in modern literature. El presente volumen forma parte de la serie de historias cortas en las lenguas rusa, alemana, italiana y francesa que han aparecido previamente en la colecciónn Pinguino de Textos Paralelos. Los cuentos elegidos son representatives del estilo literario del español contemporaneo de diversas naciones. Siete de los ocho trabajos incluidos son por autores hispanoamericanos. La traduccion es literal y junto con las notas y biografía de los escritores tiene por objeto ayudar a los estudiantes ingleses de la lengua española. No obstante, este libro será también del agrado de los lectores de una y otra lengua interesados en literature moderna.

La familia de Pascual Duarte es considerada la novela fundadora del género conocido como tremendismo, que entronca con la tradición realista española: la picaresca, el naturalismo del siglo XIX y la novela social de los años treinta. Es un punto de encuentro de estilos que surgen en la España de posguerra, dentro de los que podemos destacar el existencialismo y el extremo realismo. Los personajes viven en un ambiente de marginación, sumidos en la incultura, el dolor y la angustia, lo que hace que las historias giren en torno a lo grotesco o repulsivo buscando con ello impactar al lector. El tremendismo es un tipo de crítica social.

A monologue relating to a series of misfortunes encountered by a wide number of persons in a world dominated by brute force and elementary instincts.

At the end of the Spanish Civil War, Tanis Gamuzo sets out to avenge the death of his brother, who was abducted and killed during the war, in a work set in a backward rural community. Mazurka for Two Dead Men represents a culmination of the 1989 Nobel Prize winner Camilo Jose Cela's literary art. The novel was originally published in Spain in 1983 and is now presented in a fine translation by Patricia Haugaard. In 1936, at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, "Lionheart" Gamuzo is abducted and killed, an event recalled repeatedly by the widowed Adega, one of the several narrative voices. In 1939, when the war ends, Tanis Gamuzo avenges his brother. For both events, and for them only, the blind accordion player Gaudencio plays the same mazurka. Set in a backward rural community in Galicia (the author's home territory), Cela's creation is in many ways like a contrapuntal musical composition built with varying themes and moods. In alternately melancholy, humorous, lyrical, or coarse tones he portrays a reign of fools.

Edición de Jorge Urrutia.

Caleidoscopische beschrijving van de chaotische gebeurtenissen in Madrid op 18 juli 1936, de dag waarop de Spaanse Burgeroorlog begint.

A novel set in Venezuela depicts the adventures of a woman marked by a tragic destiny.

Raul has a few peculiar habits. He always is measuring the size of his ears. Raúl tiene algunas manías. Está todo el tiempo midiendo sus orejas.

"Banned for many years by the Franco regime, Cela's masterpiece presents a panoramic view of the degradation and suffering of the lower-middle class in post-Civil War Spain. Readers are introduced to over a hundred characters through a series of interlocking vignettes, transforming this book from a social document into a towering work of inventive fiction. Filled with violence, hunger, and compassion, The Hive captures the ambitions and constraints of life under a dictatorship."--BOOK JACKET.