El Obelisco by Emilio González Déniz

“El Obelisco”, which won the prestigious “Pérez Galdós” Prize in 1983, is a novel written by Emilio Gonález Déniz, a Canarian author born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1951. This book exemplified the experience of the Canarian people born in the 50’s, making emphasis on their dreams, desires, frustrations and traumas. It is a perfect book to picture the last years of the Franquism and the Spanish Transition to democracy from a different perspective. There are other realities to consider that cannot be ignored, like the experience of Ceuta, Melilla, or the Balearic and Canary islands.

“El Obelisco” tries to show some cases of different and personal experiences, making clear that these are just some small pieces of a very large puzzle. Although it has a third-person narration, there is not an omniscient-narrator. An urban monument, an obelisk that was built in the 50’s, is the witness that reveals the plot. The Obelisk talks in first person in few occasions, usually at the beginning of each chapter.

The main plot takes place in 1981, but the memories of each character take us to different times in the past. In a nutshell, it is the story of a group of friends, and how they met and interacted with each other through their lives. The climax happens in the very end of the story, in which the most charismatic male character (Sico) tried to kill himself in front of all his friends, but was not able to pull the trigger. Then, the youngest of this group of friends, the only one that was born in the sixties and is free of traumas, took the gun from Sico’s hand and shot him.

This book is a reflection of a time and a generation, which provides a better understanding of the end of Franquism and the transition to democracy. 

Miua by Pérez Galdós

 This novel presents the same humor we have already seen in others Galdós’ books, which makes the experience of reading very pleasant.

Like said in previous posts, Galdós’ writing is very approachable, and easily captures the reader’s attention. Ana Mª Vigara Tauste, in her paper “El lenguaje coloquial
(humano)
en Galdós”, explains that this author used this colloquial way to write as an aesthetic resource.  Once again, I want to point out that the apparent simplicity, the humor, and the rich historical background are a constant in this great Canarian author. This novel is not as extensive as “Fortunata y Jacinta”, which makes it a perfect reading for the weekend.

“Miau”, released in 1888, criticizes how the Spanish administration works by showing the inefficient State machinery and the corruption of government employees. The plot tells the story of the Villaamil family. Mr. Ramón Villaamil was the Pater familias, and used to work for the IRS. Though he was a good employee, his talent was not appreciated and eventually was let go. Sadly, to get a job in Spain, talent is less important than who you know. He was married to Mrs. Pura, and they had two daughters: Luisa and Abelarda. Luisa fell in love with Víctor, a corrupted government employee. They got married and had a son, Luisito. Because of Luisa’s death, Luisito was raised by Mr. Villaamil. After a while Víctor went back to Mr. Villaamil’s house because of his illegal activities in the IRS. Víctor showed his true colors when he played with Abelarda’s feelings. Unfairly he got a very good promotion. Later, close to the end of the book, it is revealed that Víctor was the responsible for Villaamil’s disgrace. He, been a member of the Villaamil family, did spread the rumor in the IRS that Mr. Ramón Villaamil was a crazy old man that was not capable of working anymore. Luisito had a vision of God, who told him that very soon he was going to take his grandpa, Mr. Villaamil, with him. It is very interesting how God is portrayed through Luisitos’ eyes. There is a very brief paper called “La visión de Dios por Luisito Cadalso en Miau” written by Geiffrey Ribbans, which focuses on the linguistic and narratological aspect of these mystical experiences. At the end, tired of the world, Mr. Villaamil killed himself.

“El misterio de la cripta embrujada” by Eduardo Mendoza

“El misterio de la cripta embrujada” is a book written by the catalane Eduardo Mendoza in 1979. It is

the time of the Spanish transition to democracy after Franco’s death on 1975. For many Spaniards the nightmare was over, and the intellectual community recovered its voice to speak out. They didn't have to use literary resources anymore to hide their critical point of view about Spain. Finally, after so many years of censorship and repression, they were free to speak their mind without fear.

The plot is presented in first person by an urban pícaro (rogue) in a way that recalls to “El Lazarillo de Tormes”. Having a pícaro telling his own story in first person is not something new in the twentieth century Spanish Literature, “La familia de Pascual Duarte” (1942) by Camilo José Cela is clear an example. But what is fresh about Mendoza's novel is his humor. Although we still find misery and poorness, the criticism is brought through a sense of humor that makes the reader constantly laugh. Somehow, this humor reminds me of some pre-war novels like Gómez de la Serna’s “El caballero del hongo gris”.

“El misterio de la cripta embrujada” has many comments about the historical moment which Spain was going through right after Franco's death. Kalen R. Oswald explains in the article “An Urban Pícaro in Transitional Barcelona: Eduardo Mendoza's El misterio de la cripta embrujada and El laberinto de las aceitunas”, that this book reveals “essential details about the urban experience of Barcelona during the Transition to democracy” (32). María José Giménez Micó brings to our attention in her book “Eduardo Mendoza y las novelas españolas de la transición” that Mendoza’s books open a dialogue with History trying to understand reality. Also, she points out that this author offers a different perspective of Catalonia, caricaturing the construction of nationalist identities.

“De padres a hijos” by Benito Pérez Armas

Many Graduate Spanish Literature programs in the US refer to the literature done in Spain as Peninsular Literature, using a terminology that discriminates non-peninsular territories like the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla. The voice of the outskirt should also be listened, and fortunately we have books for that.

“De padres a hijos” is a novel written by Benito Pérez Armas, and published in 1901. This author was born in the island of Lanzarote, the Canary Islands. I have found very few things written about this author, but there is an article entitled “Benito Pérez Armas: Literatura e ideal regionalista”, by Gregorio J. Cabrera Déniz. It is also possible to find information about him in “La enciclopedia de la literatura canaria” edited by Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria.

The plot, which occurs at the ending of the century, tells the love story of Víctor and Trina, whom represent the descendants of “los guanches”. In the nineteenth century, the term “guanche” was used to identify the population of the Canary Islands before the Spaniards conquered it. After getting married they had a baby girl, Pinillo. The couple’s happiness is destroyed by the intervention of an evil “cacique”, don Dimas, who is the incarnation of the Castilian conqueror. Dimas tried to rape Trina, and by a misunderstanding Victor thought that she cheated on him. After fighting Dimas and thinking that he killed him, Victor runs away to Costa Rica. However, Dimas did not die, and Trina never cheated on Victor. Several years later Victor found out the truth and returns to the island of Tenerife, but her wife had died of a broken heart, and her daughter was living in a hospice. Ironically Trina and Dimas died on the same day.

The romantic aesthetic and regionalism, which remember the pre-Hispanic culture of the Canary Islands, define this novel. In this novel, Benito Pérez Armas talks about a pure Canarian race, that he calls “guanche”, ignoring the cultural mix that conforms the islands. He not only ignores the fact that each island has its own identity, but also that it has been established by prehispanic cultures and external influences coming from Spain, America and Africa. It is a very short book that can be read in one day.