A 20-year-old, skein-like novel by the 1989 Nobel winner - a
tour-de-force that proceeds in chapter-length sentences, on-rushing
with asides and tiny glimpses into the life of a neighborhood and
its people during the first few weeks of the Spanish Civil War. So
full of characters is the book, and so unconcerned to identify them
by anything but repetition, that translator Polt has appended a
helpful list of characters and references at the end. But it isn't
strictly necessary. Cela's constitutional pessimism (an amalgam of
venery, political cynicism, and astonishing mood-changes) sweeps
everyone into the same tossed-about boat; and the effect achieved
is probably the one that was wanted: we see people very large in
their private lives turned utterly small and interchangeable by
public life, revolt, and death. At times every woman in this novel
is a whore - there is a grungy stylization of desire as antidote to
ideas - every man a pig, every person a liar and poseur. Yet when
Franco and his generals revolt and the militias form in response
and everyone must produce identities to anyone with a gun who asks
for them, suddenly the book becomes very moving and shocking: the
scatter of characters begins to diminish by murder, and names we
were tripping over stop showing up altogether. Far from an easy or
enjoyable read, but this may be Cela's bitterly flowing
masterpiece. (Kirkus Reviews)
Widely regarded as one of the best works by the winner of the 1989
Nobel Prize for Literature, San Camilo, 1936 appears here for the
first time in English translation. One of Spain's most popular
writers, Camilo Jose Cela is recognized for his experiments with
language and with difficult subject matter. In San Camilo, 1936,
first published in 1969, these concerns converge in a fascinating
narrative that is as challenging as it is rewarding, as troubling
as it is compelling. A story of history as it happens, by turns
confusing and startingly clear, echoing with news and rumors,
defined by grand gestures and intimate pauses, the novel leads the
reader into the ordinary life of extraordinary times. Beginning on
the eve of the Spanish Civil War, San Camilo, 1936 follows a
twenty-year-old student's attempts to sort out his private affairs
(sex, money, career) in the midst of the turmoil overtaking his
country. In vivid and richly textured prose that distinguishes
Cela's work, the emotional reality of civil war takes on a vibrant
immediacy that is humorous, tender, and ultimately transforming as
a young man tries to come to terms with the historical moment he
inhabits-and hopes to survive. Readers new to Cela will find in
this novel ample reason for the author's growing reputation among
audiences worldwide.
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