Literary Voices of Post-War Spain: Authors and Their Enduring Works
Juan Goytisolo: Innovative Narrative Techniques
Juan Goytisolo was one of the first novelists to abandon the plain language of realism, replacing it with an innovative narrative technique that often addressed social and economic realities. His early novels, such as Legerdemain and Duel in Paradise, adopted the hallmarks of a fiesta. In his renewal procedures, he narrated the return to Spain of exiled intellectuals and the imposition of a challenging new reality in the country.
Juan Marsé: Chronicler of Youth and Society
As a child, Juan Marsé began working in a jewelry shop. After publishing some accounts, he released Enclosed with One Toy and This Side of the Moon. His novels, depicting a youth without ideals, introduced a new bourgeois style. The Last Afternoon with Teresa, a story of friendship between a university student and a rebellious, exhilarating motorcycle thief who poses as a worker, is considered a masterful achievement. Marsé militantly applied new narrative techniques in If You Are Told That I Fell. In later years, the novelist continued to expand this narrative world with novels such as:
- Volveré
- Guiard Round
- The Charm of Shanghai
- Lagartija
Camilo José Cela: A Master of Moral Frailty
Camilo José Cela, a successful writer from his early novels, consistently portrayed humanity as a being of great moral frailty, often inclined to selfishness and cruelty. Cela’s work spans almost all genres, and he developed a style characterized by simple syntax yet great lexical and metaphorical richness. In later years, Cela’s notable works included the novels Mrs. Caldwell Speaks to Her Son, a monologue by the main character recalling her son who died in the First World War, and San Camilo, 1936. Cela also wrote:
- Poetry: Treading the Murky Light of Day
- Travel Books: Journey to the Alcarria
- Stories: Galician and His Gang
Miguel Delibes: Dignity in Daily Existence
After a few years devoted to journalism, Miguel Delibes began his literary career with The Shadow of the Cypress Is Long, an existentialist novel that won the Nadal Prize. A methodical writer who kept his public life separate from his work, Delibes’ novels portray humble, tender, and marginalized characters who defend their human dignity despite the difficult conditions of their daily existence. Among Miguel Delibes’ extensive narrative works, notable novels include:
- The Road
- My Idolatized Son Sisí
- The Red Leaf
After the restoration of democracy, Delibes published novels such as The Disputed Vote of Mr. Cayo and The Heretic.
Miguel Hernández: Poet of Passion and Struggle
From a very modest background, through extensive reading and self-study, Miguel Hernández came into contact with the literary world through the decisive friendship of Pablo Neruda in Madrid. In 1939, he was jailed in harsh conditions that exacerbated his fragile health and hastened his death. His first book, Expert in Moons, adeptly describes simple everyday objects, combining avant-garde forms with Neo-Gongorist imagery. In The Unending Ray, Miguel Hernández expressed his passionate love through images and metaphors inspired by natural references: the bull, the sea, and fruits.
Poets of the Post-War Era
In 1939, at the end of the war, in addition to most members of the Generation of ’27, other younger poets began the road to exile. Among these was Juan Gil-Albert. Poets who remained in Spain were described by Dámaso Alonso as ‘entrenched’ (those who accepted the new social and political situation) and ‘desarraigados’ (the group formed by those who lived uneasily, searching for new ideals for a reality that had been stripped from them). Among these poets, Gabriel Celaya and Blas de Otero are particularly notable.