“Muerte de animales” by Juan Pedro Castañedas

“Muerte de animales”, published in 1982, is one of Juan Pedro Castañedas’ books. This Canarian/Spanish author always surprises the reader. There is some experimentation that is refreshing to the eye, although it is masked in a very direct and easy way of writing that makes the experience very pleasant for the reader. Two big characteristics in this realist book are the importance of the landscape and the interaction between the characters, which is characterized by a silence that the reader can feel.

As in Castañedas’ book “La despedida”, this book presents a love triangle. Sebastián and Dionisio fall in love with Elvira, a young woman who enjoyed the physical presence of both men. From a point of view of the gender studies, it is interesting observing a woman full of life that is incapable to speak her mind. Because of this, Sebastián and Dionisio took control of her life, deciding that she would be Sebastián’s woman under the condition that they could not get married. Their life together turned to be very difficult because of the lack of children, the hard work and Sebastián’s depression. Elvira tried to help him out, but there was nothing she could do. Dinosio reappeared in their life, and both, him and Elvira, kept having feelings for each other. Finally, Sebastián got himself killed in a revenge plot related to a family will, and Dioniso tried to help Elvira to go through such a traumatic experience. It is after the second half of the book that Elvira started to speak out, although she still kept a passive attitude toward men. Reading books like “El Obelisco” (Emilio González Déniz) or “D’esquerra a dreta” (Manuel de Pedrolo) it is possible to observe how women are perceived during the Spanish Transition. Women were sexually active, and took strong roles, in many cases stronger than men’s.