Carmen Martín Gaite

Sara Allen is a ten-year-old girl living in Brooklyn, N.Y.. Her greatest wish is to go to Manhattan alone to make her grandmother a strawberry pie. The grandmother of this modern little red hood has been a musical-hall singer and has been married several times. The wolf is mister Woolf, a billionaire pastry beaker who lives near central park in a pie-shaped skyscraper. But the magical thread of this story is focused on Miss Lunatic. An ageless beggar who lives hidden in the Statue of Liberty by day and comes out at night to meditate human misfortune or if necessary, give out a capable elixir to overcome fear.

A Spanish novel on a man whose parents are killed in a car crash. It follows him as he wanders through their big house, looking over books, family papers, old photographs, reminiscing on his youth.

En Retahílas, el viaje que realiza una anciana al pazo familiar para morir, acompañada de su nieta Eulalia, y la llegada sorpresa de Germán, el sobrino de Eulalia, producirá durante esa noche un intenso diálogo entre los dos que dará lugar a seis monólogos, en los que cada uno reconstruirá y contará qué ha sido su vida hasta entonces.

Sara Allen habite à New-York dans le quartier de Brooklyn où elle mène une existence bien monotone. Son rêve serait d'être actrice comme le fut sa grand-mère avec laquelle elle a tant d'affinités. Un jour, alors qu'elle se rend chez celle-ci afin de lui porter une tarte aux fraises, elle fait une étonnante rencontre

"Nubosidad variable es así la historia de dos escrituras: Sofia y Mariana nos dirán, con voz propia, cómo transcurren sus vidas respectivas. Pero la novela es, quizá por encima de todo, la reconstrucción de una amistad." -- provided by publisher.

"Courtship Customs attempts to place woman's situation and gender relationships within the context of the rigid sociopolitical atmosphere of the early years after the Spanish Civil War. To accomplish this Martin Gaite combed periodical libraries for examples of official policy and rhetoric to show how they shaped generational attitudes. Drawing on her own experiences and excepts from periodical literature of the time, she documents the repressive atmosphere in which she grew up and in particular, how it affected the young women of her age group. She calls attention to the hypocrisy of the system, to the image versus the reality, and to how certain watchwords like "rationing" and "restriction" went beyond their economic applications to touch on personal behavior and attitudes." "Themes she touches on in the nine chapters (and epilogue) include proper dress and behavior for women; a young woman's limited future; the influence of the Falange (Fascist) party on society and on individual behaviour; the "rebel" girl; family life; sex; cinema and the Spaniard; and courtship and the stages of relationship." "The book is an important document that explains much of the hidden agenda in the literature of the period and in particular, women's literature. In addition, its sociological dimension will help others to understand how and why the regime's rhetoric and practice managed to be so pervasive - and thus offer deeper understanding of the conditioning of an entire generation."--Jacket.

Translated by Frances M. Lopez-Morillas.