The Post-War Spanish & Latin American Novel
The Post-War Spanish Novel (to 1950s)
Introduction
After the civil war, a period of isolation, censorship, death, and exile ensued, leading to cultural impoverishment. Spain disregards thematic renovations taking place in Europe and continues publishing novels by the already established Generation of ’98, such as Pío Baroja. Novelists in exile, though dispersed, shared common themes: the ethical issues of war, memories of a lost homeland, nostalgia, and the presence of their new residences.
Novelists in Exile
- Francisco Ayala: “Death of a Dog”
- Max Aub: “The Magic Labyrinth”
- Arturo Barea: “The Forging”
- Rosa Chacel: “Memories of Leticia Valle”
The 1940s
Two Trends:
1. Official Novel (Permitted by the Franco Regime):
- The Winning Novel: Exalts heroic and military virtues from the ideology of the dictatorship. Represented by Agustín de Foxá’s “Madrid”
- Neorealism: Modeled after Baroja or Galdós, based on reality. Represented by Zunzunegui’s “Our Children” and Ignacio Agustí’s “Mariona Rebull”
2. Unofficial Novel (Existential Novel):
Bears witness to a life marked by uncertainty and lack of communication. Characters are frustrated and disabled. Begins with Camilo José Cela’s “The Family of Pascual Duarte”, a key novel of the late 20th century. This novel accentuates features like characters with physical or mental defects, constant violence, and strong language (Tremendismo). Continues with novels like Carmen Laforet’s “Nada” and Miguel Delibes’ “The Shadow of the Cypress is Long”.
The 1950s: Social Realism
A different novel emerges: the novel of social realism. Thematically, content is prioritized, shifting from individual anxiety to society as the center of interest, whether rural or urban, bourgeois or proletarian.
Formally, linear structure dominates, space and time are reduced, characters are collective, and a certain social class is reflected from the outside without delving into their psychology.
The style is clear and simple, appropriate to the social group that dialogues. Dialogue is crucial as it develops the plot.
The 3rd person narrative is used, sometimes disappearing to let reality create the novel (Objectivism).
The novel becomes a vehicle for social complaint, with novelists manifesting their ideology, usually leftist (Critical Realism).
Authors:
- Camilo José Cela’s “La Colmena” inspires the beginning of social realism.
- Miguel Delibes: “El Camino”, “Las Ratas”
- Generation of the Mid-Century:
- Ignacio Aldecoa: “El Fulgor y la Sangre”
- Jesús Fernández Santos: “Los Bravos”
- Juan García Hortelano: “Nuevas Amistades”
- Carmen Martín Gaite
- Ana María Matute
- Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio: “El Jarama” (belongs to Objectivist Realism)
The Spanish Novel from 1960-1970
The 1962 publication of Luis Martín-Santos’ “Tiempo de Silencio” marks a narrative renewal through experimentation in both content and form.
Factors Contributing to Renewal:
- Influence of European and American novelists (Kafka) and the Latin American Boom novelists (Mario Vargas Llosa, Carlos Fuentes, Gabriel García Márquez).
- Growing power of publishers (Seix Barral).
- Depletion of social realism.
Features:
Thematic:
Content is secondary, but maintains a critical vision of society with existential and liberal issues, incorporating Spain’s recent history.
Formal:
Complex or “open” novels (Umberto Eco) requiring careful reader participation.
These traits are seen in:
- Structural Complexity: Chapters replaced by sequences, breaking linearity with flashbacks and flashforwards.
- Multi-Narrator: Multiple narrative viewpoints (1st, 2nd, 3rd person).
- Counterpoint: Multiple intertwined stories and kaleidoscopic narrative.
- Interior Monologue and Free Indirect Style: Dialogue gives way to the free flow of consciousness, blurring the line between narration and character expression.
- Renewal of Language: Mixing linguistic registers, loanwords, varied sentence structures, and abolishing punctuation.
These characteristics make them novels to be studied, requiring an active reader.
Novelists:
- Post-War: Camilo José Cela (“San Camilo 1936”, “Mazurka for Two Dead”), Miguel Delibes (“Five Hours with Mario” – interior monologue), Gonzalo Torrente Ballester (“The Saga/Fuga de J.B”).
- Generation of ’50: Luis Martín-Santos (“Tiempo de Silencio”), Juan Benet (“Volverás a Región”), Juan Goytisolo (“Marks of Identity”), Juan Marsé (“Últimas Tardes con Teresa”), Miguel Espinosa.
The Spanish Novel Since 1975
A rollback of novelistic experiments and a return to tradition. The novel becomes one to be enjoyed rather than studied. Includes Eduardo Mendoza (“The Truth about the Savolta Case”), Miguel Delibes (“The Heretic”), Manuel Vázquez Montalbán (detective novels), Juan José Millás (intimate novels), Antonio Muñoz Molina, Arturo Pérez-Reverte.
The Latin American Novel of the Second Half of the 20th Century
In early 20th century Latin American literature:
- Realism continues, following Galdós and Clarín, but introducing the American world (regionalist novel, Creole novel, Mexican Revolution novel).
- A novelistic change occurs between the 1940s and 1950s with Tragic Realism or Magical Realism.
Characteristics of Tragic/Magical Realism:
Thematic:
- Bridging the documentary from nature to urban settings.
- Incorporating the legendary, magical, and marvelous into everyday reality, interpreted through the unconscious, dreams, and hallucinations (Alejandro Carpentier).
- Existential problems combined with social concerns.
Formal:
- Incorporates techniques from Surrealism and European innovators like Joyce, Kafka, and Faulkner (interior monologue, chronological disorder, multiple narrators).
- Uses refined, baroque language full of evocative images.
Main Authors:
- Jorge Luis Borges (short story writer): Blends imagination with intellect, addressing themes of fate and identity (“Ficciones”).
- Miguel Ángel Asturias (Guatemala, Nobel Prize): “El Señor Presidente” deals with dictatorships through surrealist techniques, emphasizing the dream world.
- Alejo Carpentier (Cuba): Coined the term “magical realism” (“The Lost Steps”), exploring the theme of nature and civilization.
- Juan Rulfo (Mexico): “Pedro Páramo” narrates, allegorically, the disappointment of the Mexican Revolution.
The 1960s: The “Boom”
The “Boom” refers to the spectacular success of the Latin American narrative in the 1960s. It was a literary and commercial phenomenon driven by publishers (Seix Barral), translations, academic interest, and the high quality of the writers.
Characteristics:
Represents the consolidation of reforms initiated by earlier novelists.
Thematic:
Continues existential themes (loneliness, isolation, death, the transience of human existence) alongside Latin American reality seen through magical realism.
Formal:
- Complex Narrative Structures: Requires active reader participation (multiple narrators, chronological disorder, interior monologue, free indirect style).
- Experimental Language: Unconventional language open to multiple interpretations.
Major Authors and Works:
- Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia): “One Hundred Years of Solitude” reflects the history of the Buendía family over seven generations, culminating magical realism (Nobel Prize).
- Julio Cortázar (Argentina): “Hopscotch” is characterized by its structure in sequences that can be read in any order.
- Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru): “Conversation in the Cathedral” features a complex structure, with the cathedral as a bar.
- Carlos Fuentes (Mexico): “The Death of Artemio Cruz” uses multiple narrators in a retrospective narrative about the protagonist’s life and disillusionment with the Mexican Revolution.
- José Donoso (Chile): Surrealist style, reflects the misery of human existence.
- Guillermo Cabrera Infante (Cuba): “Three Trapped Tigers” exemplifies the mixture of cultural registers and language of Havana.
- José Lezama Lima: “Paradiso” reconstructs the world of childhood through mythic-religious symbols.
- Ernesto Sabato (Argentina): “On Heroes and Tombs” captures Argentina’s recent history, and “Report on the Blind” delves into the dark secrets of existence.
From the 1970s Onward
Boom authors continue writing and publishing. New authors emerge with new themes and techniques: experimental language, influence of mass media, importance of colloquial and slang registers.
- Manuel Puig: “Kiss of the Spider Woman”
- Alfredo Bryce Echenique: “A World for Julius”
- Antonio Skármeta: “The Postman”
- Isabel Allende: “The House of the Spirits”
- Laura Esquivel: “Like Water for Chocolate”