Spanish Post-War Novel: Exile, Social Realism, and Experimentation
The Novelists of Exile
The Novelists of Exile: Ramón J. Sender (Chronicles of Alba), Max Aub (The Magic Labyrinth), Francisco Ayala (Head of the Lamb). These are some of the writers of this period. Their work, done outside of Spain, is generally focused on the theme of war.
The Immediate Post-War Novel (1940s)
The Immediate Post-War Novel (1940s): The extreme censorship of the time prevented critical social commentary. The natural breakdown of literary evolution is evident immediately after the war. The novel could not connect with the social narrative of the 1930s, banned by the dictatorship. The Civil War could only be treated from Franco’s perspective. In the 1940s, there were only exceptional and isolated cases. 1942: The Family of Pascual Duarte by José Cela. 1944: Nada by Carmen Laforet. These two novels share a bleak and existential tone, contrasting with the triumphalism or evasiveness of the immediate postwar period. They explore environments of frustration, failure, and violence. Within this trend, the narrative works of Delibes, such as The Shade of the Cypress is Long, began.
Social Realism (1950s)
Social Realism (1950s): The development of tourism and industry brought some economic recovery and changes in lifestyles. Young people who experienced the war as children or adolescents viewed the war and postwar country from a different perspective. They were critical of the power and social division between winners and losers. In literature, there was a direct complaint, facilitated by the slight opening of censorship. Some innovative techniques began to be incorporated:
- Collective ownership
- Reduced space-time (the action takes place in one location, within a short period)
- Objectivist narrative: characters are presented through external manifestations of their conduct; the author does not appear as such.
The Hive by José Cela (1951) is considered a precedent of the social novel. The author skillfully avoids direct reference to the Civil War, but the reader understands that the narrative is a result of it. Other authors include:
- Ignacio Aldecoa: The Light and Blood
- Ana Maria Matute: First Report
- Carmen Martin Gaite: Between Visits
- Miguel Delibes: The Way, Diary of a Hunter, Diary of a Migrant
The Novel of the 1960s and 1970s
The Novel of the 1960s and 1970s: There was an abandonment of social realism. During the 1970s, the socially engaged novel was not lost, although there was a certain exhaustion of this trend and a clear move towards experimentation and renewal. Spanish writers were influenced by European writers (Proust, Kafka, Joyce) and American writers (Vargas Llosa, Cortázar, García Márquez), leading to more complex and experimental novels. Key technical resources included:
- Minimal argument content
- Deletion of punctuation or paragraphs, and mixing of genres
- Continuous jumps backward or forward in the argument
- Alternation of the grammatical person in the narrative (Five Hours with Mario)
- Interior monologue
The new course was marked by the novel by Luis Martin Santos: Quiet Time (1962). Other notable works include: Torrente Ballester: The Saga/Drain JB, José Cela: San Camilo 1936, Juan Goytisolo: Signs of Identity. By the mid-1970s, there was a move away from mere literary games. There was a return to interest in history, argument, and intrigue, but not in the typical realism of the nineteenth century or the social realism of the recent past. The start of this new twist was The Truth About the Savolta Case (1975) by Eduardo Mendoza.