Spanish writers

by Andrew Whittaker
August 31st, 2010

Few countries reveal their character in print quite like Spain. Authors like Cervantes, Unamuno and, more recently, Carols Ruiz Zafón, have explored the nation’s emotions and experiences with colour and truth.

Any shelf of world literature would surely feature the Cantar de Mío Cid, Don Quixote, a novel or two by Galdós and the poetry of Lorca. That much of Spain’s brightest writing has emerged during the country’s darkest hours, from the slow-mo collapse of the Habsburg years to the national ignominy of 1898 and self-mutilation of the Civil War, speaks of how great Spanish literature addresses the nation’s ills.

So, dip your toe in the turbulent waters:

The five books to read for a taste of Spanish literature

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.
The first great novel of Western literature has sold by the donkey load since the 17th century day it was first published.

Fortunata y Jacinta by Benito Pérez Galdós.
Bed hopping and class conflict from the maestro of Spanish Realism.

Los pazos de Ulloa by Emilia Pardo Bazán.
A rare, absorbing female voice of 19th century literature.

La familia de Pascual Duarte by Camilo José Cela.
The controversial kingpin of 20th Spanish literature does peasant woe.

La sombra del viento by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
The twisting story of a boy, a book called The Shadow of the Wind (ring any bells?) and the devil in pre- and post-Civil War Barcelona.