Narrative in 20th Century Spain
Narrative in the First Half of the 20th Century
The first half of the twentieth century is very rich from the literary point of view. Quality is the common denominator of all genres, though, if one stands out above others, that is certainly the novel. The authors of the Generation of 98 use the genre as a key vehicle of expression, and it becomes the genre par excellence of twentieth-century literature. Subsequently, the authors belonging to the Generation of 14 or Novecentismo grow them in profusion, along with the essay, and both intend to seek new narrative paths.
The Novel of the Generation of 98
The Generation of 98’s preferred subjects are Spain, the causes of its decline, history, and its people. In addition to the reflection on man and his destiny, these authors do not care about the history of the great characters, but for what Unamuno called the intrahistoria. Another key element in the novels of the Generation of 98 is the description of the landscape as a reflection of a specific mood. As to how these authors write, they are based on simplicity and clarity, fleeing empty rhetoric and long sentences. The most important thing is the plot and how it conveys the message implicit in the novel.
Among the members of the Generation of 98, the major novelists are:
- Pío Baroja
- Ramón del Valle-Inclán
- Miguel de Unamuno
- José Martínez Ruiz, Azorín
- Ángel Ganivet
These authors published their novels in the first three decades of the twentieth century, i.e., until the beginning of the Civil War.
Generation Novecentismo or 14
As a bridge between the Generation of ’98 and the Generation of ’27, we find a group of writers who made themselves known between 1910 and 1914 and are referred to as the Novecento. They are philosophers and writers: José Ortega y Gasset, Ramón Gómez de la Serna, and Juan Ramón Jiménez.
Gabriel Miró (Alicante, 1879 – Madrid, 1930)
His prose stands out mainly for the use of description. The technique is linked to the contemplative attitude of the author, which shows a greater mastery of narrative sense of the landscape values. He describes the color and light of a particular place, and even the smell and taste of food, so that the reader feels transported to a world full of sensations. The best-known novels of Gabriel Miró are Our Father San Daniel (1921) and The Cemetery of Cherries (1910). The rest of his work consists of works that have virtually no plot and become descriptive pictures.
Ramón Pérez de Ayala (Oviedo, 1880 – Madrid, 1962)
This author masterfully blends local elements from his native Asturias with foreign settings in his fiction. He is an intellectual and meticulous novelist as regards form, classic and elegant, with ingredients of irony and humor. The characters embody the concepts and ideas of the author, so it is common for the development of the plot to stop to give way to thoughts about art and things. Ramón Pérez de Ayala is a tolerant narrator, justifying any action in his novels as long as it agrees with the nature of the character. In addition, he shows a great interest in the psychological analysis of characters. Among the novels of his first period, Troteras and Danzaderas (1913) stands out, set in Madrid’s bohemian scene of the early twentieth century.
Ramón Gómez de la Serna (1891-1963)
An unclassifiable author, he cultivated all genres, as well as inventing one: the greguería (defined by him as ‘metaphor + humor’), and serves as a bridge between Novecentismo and avant-garde movements. He always tried to renew himself aesthetically, be original, and look at things from unusual angles. In an attempt to break down the classic tale, he introduced images, metaphors, and word games into his novels. His continued production of novels is extensive and varied in subject matter: The Damned Bullfighter (1926).
The Dehumanized Novel
Following the work of noucentistes authors, especially Ortega y Gasset and the Revista de Occidente, comes a group of authors who are more concerned with art than with human problems. Ortega believed that since the novel as a genre was exhausted, it was necessary to focus on other aspects.
Narrative from the 1970s to Today
With the advent of democracy in 1975, the novel in Spain takes on a new perspective, making it virtually impossible to highlight some general characteristics or trends over others. Each author undertakes a personal journey with the aim to differentiate themselves from their contemporaries. Anyway, we will try to highlight the most significant features of this period:
The Most Important Authors of Recent Years
- Manuel Vázquez Montalbán (1939-2004): One of the most important authors of the last thirty years. In addition to being an outstanding poet, he also successfully cultivated the novel. He is the creator of the detective Pepe Carvalho, star of I Killed Kennedy (1972) and Tattoo (1974), and has a large number of publications of all kinds. He was awarded the Literature and Policing Prize (France) for South Seas (1979).
- Eduardo Mendoza (1943): One of the leading novelists of recent years. He began his literary career in 1975 with The Truth About the Savolta Case, characterized by intrigue and action. This novel has a clear purpose of social criticism, particularly of the wealthy bourgeoisie of the early twentieth century. In a similar vein, but closer to the detective novel, he published The Mystery of the Haunted Crypt (1979) and The Labyrinth of Olives (1982).
- Arturo Pérez-Reverte (1951): Served as a war correspondent for Spanish TV for most of his life before devoting himself exclusively to literature. From his early novels, he achieved great success, as they have been translated into twenty languages and some of them adapted to film. He publishes novels based primarily on historical facts, such as The Hussar (1986), The Fencing Master (1988), The Flanders Panel (1990), The Shadow of the Eagle (1993), or the series of novels based on Captain Alatriste. He works as an opinion columnist with various publications and is currently one of the most successful and famous authors.
- Antonio Muñoz Molina (1956): Born in Úbeda (Jaén), he is currently a member of the Royal Spanish Academy of Language and one of the most important novelists of today. In his novels, he usually mixes elements of police, historical, and mystery genres. He began his career in 1986 with Beatus Ille. Success came quickly, receiving the National Book Award twice, in 1988 for Winter in Lisbon (1987) and in 1992 for The Polish Rider (1991). His later novels include Sepharad (2001), The Windows of Manhattan (2004), and In the Night Time (2010).