Spanish Novels of Exile, Postwar, and Experimentation
The Novel in Exile
The majority of exiled writers reproduced similar themes: memories of Spain before 1936, longing and desire to return, and reflections on the circumstances of war and exile. Many of their books were banned by censors. Best-known authors include:
- Ramón J. Sender (1901-1982): His work is divided into three areas: realistic narratives (Requiem for a Spanish Peasant), historical novels, and autobiographical accounts (Crónica del alba).
- Max Aub (1903-1972)
- Francisco Ayala (1906-): Notable works include In the Bottom of the Cup and Death of a Dog.
Finally, Arturo Barea’s trilogy, The Forging of a Rebel, is considered by many to be the best account of the Spanish Civil War.
The Immediate Postwar Novel
Three directions can be distinguished in the immediate postwar novel:
- The continuation of nineteenth-century realism and traditionalism (Zunzunegui).
- The approach to the war from the perspective of the victors.
- Existential realism, showing anti-heroic characters engaged in an indifferent and hostile society, highlighting The Family of Pascual Duarte by Camilo José Cela and Nada by Carmen Laforet.
Cela, Delibes, and Ballester are considered essential writers of this time.
Cela
Cela participated in all the tendencies of the narrative after the civil war, but his tremendous work underscored objective and critical realism, especially in The Hive. There were also experimental trends, such as Office of Darkness 5 and San Camilo, as well as later novels like Mazurka for Two Dead and Boxwood.
Miguel Delibes
Miguel Delibes is considered the great novelist of Castile, a strong advocate of ecology, and appreciated by a large audience. His most recognized work is The Shade of the Cypress is Long. He has a compositional style of great simplicity, sobriety, and treatment in the language. Also notable is Five Hours with Mario (experimental), and other works such as The Way, The Holy Innocents, The Heretic, Diary of a Hunter, and The Disputed Vote of Mr. Cayo.
Gonzalo Torrente Ballester
Gonzalo Torrente Ballester (1901-1999) is known for his work Joys and Shadows, adapted for television, as well as La Saga/Fuga de J.B., an experimental novel set in the fictional Galician town of Castroforte Baralla. He also published novels such as Chronicle of King Stunned, and critical essays such as Panorama of Contemporary Spanish Literature.
The Novel of the Fifties
This period begins with Cela’s The Hive and reaches 1962 with Times of Silence by Luis Martin Santos. The writers seek to inform the reader of social injustice and raise awareness of the situation. Three aspects are emphasized:
- Objective realism (Sánchez Ferlosio’s El Jarama)
- Critical realism (for political themes)
- Anti-realist novel
The Experimental Narrative
This emerged after 1960 due to the depletion of the realistic formula, with influences from Latin American literature and the great innovators of the universal novel (Marcel Proust, Franz Kafka, James Joyce, and William Faulkner). It occurred widely from the publication of Times of Silence, using a series of technical and expressive resources of an experimental nature.