Director of the Moscow Institute of Cervantes Abel Murcia Soriano - about the cross Year of Culture and the unity of the Spanish world
Interview: Mikhail Wiesel
Photo: Cervantes Institute in Moscow
This year, the cross Year of Culture of Spain and Russia coincided with the Year of Literature in Russia. What follows from this for you? Did you somehow take this into account when planning this year?
Of course, we take this coincidence into account. To be precise, the year is called "The Year of the Spanish Language and Literature in Spanish in Russia". But we do not interpret language and literature in a narrow sense. We are talking about all the products that language can produce, not just literary ones. For example, music - we will have musical events. Music, like any kind of human creative activity, becomes an occasion for discussing it in the language, an occasion for speaking - and in this sense, it also interests us. Cinema and painting are all discussed in language, they force us to speak in language. And all this, of course, is language, but not literature in the narrow sense.
As far as literature in the narrow sense is concerned, we want to invite and ensure the presence here in Moscow of Spanish-speaking authors writing in Spanish. Here I would like to point out that the term "Hispanic" is often treated as a formality, but in our case this is not at all the case. I mean exactly the variety of literature that is in Spanish. Of course, when we talk about world literature and about those traditions, about those relationships that exist in world literature, we understand that every work, be it Goethe, Baudelaire or Dostoevsky, translated into another language, becomes part of this language, and this happens inevitably. But in the case when Hispanic cultures come into contact, this happens much more intensively and faster. And we don't think in terms of "disunity", for example, Borges, he is Argentinean, or Marquez is Colombian, or Octavio Paz is Mexican. These people feed their creativity from one stream, from the Spanish language, for us this is Spanish-language literature. And they enrich themselves, use in their work everything that is given to them by Spanish-language literature and world literature, of course, too. Language becomes that source, that connection that forms between them and the whole world. And in this sense, they are the Spanish language for us.
I must say that there are official frames for this year. The official opening is April 27th. And, of course, there are some events that we have already planned and put in their places, but there is also something special in our plans. These are events that we are going to dedicate not so much directly to those who create the literary language, but also to translators, who become those bridges and links that ensure the unhindered flow of language. And for us, a particularly important event will be the publication of a collection of short stories in Spanish. There are over a hundred short stories that cover historical period from Ruben Dario to the most recent years. In Spanish, this anthology is a tribute to the popularity short story, because in the Spanish-speaking world it has a great tradition. But we have made this edition in such a way that each of these short stories is translated by a separate translator. Thus, this book becomes a guide not only to the Spanish-speaking world of short stories, but also to the world of modern translators. And we want with this edition not only to honor the profession, but also to emphasize the value of what translators do, because the general public never thinks about them, they remain in the shadows, because people say "I read Goethe", and at the same time they do not say "I have read the translations of so-and-so."
They speak Russian.
This is true. In some countries this happens, but only when it comes to some big figures, but this is not about everyone, and not in all countries. There is one curious detail. When we say that we will publish a book in which different translators will participate, everyone gets such a strange expression on their faces. And it never occurs to anyone that in the original there are more than a hundred authors, and each of them has his own style. And it never occurs to anyone that by distributing these hundred and more stories among a hundred translators, we are giving voice to these translators. We are doing what was originally created in the original, we are giving a hundred people to find their voice by translating all these literary works. Ruben Dario did not write in the same way as Julio Cortazar. Therefore, it’s okay if Ruben Dario is translated by one translator, and Julio Cortazar by another.
The most famous modern Spanish writers are still Latin Americans: Borges, Garcia Marquez, Cortazar .... And the Spaniards, who are Spaniards, do not have jealousy towards the former colonies, which have come forward in terms of literary fame?
Such a question may arise if we do not take into account the fact that I emphasized at the beginning of our conversation: we do not share this unified field, and therefore nothing of the kind arises in this unified field. This is the view that I and the entire Cervantes Institute share. Perhaps it will become clearer to you if I suggest that you imagine that we are talking about someone, that they are St. Petersburg writers, Moscow or Kazan, without betraying the importance of the fact that they write in the same language. In addition, writers have recently appeared in Spain who have weight in the Spanish-speaking world - these are Safon, and Eduardo Mendoza, and Vila Matas. And, perhaps, even to some extent, this situation is equalized, but in fact I would not like to speak in such a vein, because Spanish-language literature is one. The publishing world that publishes these books stands on two legs - one in Spain, the other in the New World. And a lot Latin American writers who lives in Spain publishes here, and also many Spanish writers who are in this inter-oceanic space between the New and the Old World, and they also publish.
And the idea from which your question could be born is rather characteristic of the situation when we divide countries according to political considerations. But in literary world essence is one. What is symptomatic, the largest book Fair of the Hispanic World takes place in Guadalajara in Mexico, and there is no more important event for us than this fair. The largest poetry festival in the Spanish-speaking world is in Medellin, Colombia. In economic terms, the largest awards so far are issued in Spain. All this together gives a unified vision of the literary space. The awards that are issued in Spain are absolutely open, except, of course, State Prize, because, as the name implies, it is given to those who live in Spain.
More than five hundred million people speak Spanish in twenty countries, and it is perhaps more difficult for those who live in a single language space to imagine that there could be such a single language space in different countries. Let me give an example of the work of translators. I am a translator Polish literature into Spanish, and the product of my work, that is, my translations, were published in three different countries - in Mexico, Venezuela and Spain. And you can find them in other magazines, for example, in Colombian, Argentine - but they were made by me, this is my translation, a citizen of the Spanish Kingdom. Selma Ansira, one of the best translators of Russian literature, is Mexican, but her translations are published in Spain. The cultural adviser of the Colombian embassy, Ruben Dario Flores, translated Bukharin at the request of the Spanish publishing house. He is Colombian, but he also translates Pushkin, Akhmatova ...
One can only envy! Alas, Russian authors, translators and publishers from the countries of the former USSR cannot boast of such unity... But let's now turn to the opposite side of this cross year. So you list those Spanish-speaking authors who are well known in Russia, and who, apart from Dostoevsky, from Russian authors are well known in Spain?
The presence of Russian literature in the Spanish-speaking world has a strange character that does not correspond to real value. And there are also differences depending on the country. Until 1936, it was published quite well, and it could be small print runs and some small things, but there were many publishing houses that did this. And from the 39th to the 75th, for obvious reasons, everything was limited only to the publication of the classics. And here it should be noted that many of the classics that are published in Spain are not translated from Russian, but from other languages, because during this period there were no faculties of Slavic languages in Spain. And, of course, this changed radically, but gradually: contacts began to be established, specialists appeared. And in this sense New World, Latin America did not stop. , which published many translations of various writers and poets.
In general, such questions are rather sensitive, and here's why. Here, for example, is Bukharin, who is lying on my table - I learned that he was published and had good feedback critics, from Ruben Dario, who translated it and who brought it to me. I don't have the complete picture. Most likely, those specialists who track these topics have a complete picture, and even then its completeness is not absolute.
In Italy, our Vladimir Mayakovsky is incredibly popular for the reason that he is a futurist, and this is an important topic for Italians. Do you have any Russian writer who is more important to you than others?
In Spain, at a certain moment, Pasternak played a very important role. If not important, then at least he was known, was "on hearing".
Is this in the 60s or later?
Late 70s, early 80s. And, of course, I followed what was coming out, and sometimes I looked if something interested me. Therefore, I can talk about myself and about those books that had a certain impact on me. And among them, first of all, The Master and Margarita comes to my mind and, perhaps, Zamyatin's novel We. And among the works of Dostoevsky, less known than Crime and Punishment, for example, The Gambler, but this is my personal history with Russian literature, and I have no idea if there are people besides me for whom these books represent special interest and importance.
The image of foreign literature in another culture in the form of its translations is very fragmented and incomplete. All the more important is what we do - we try to return or give special value to the work of a translator, because in the end this image depends on him, and how complete the idea of the literature of another culture, another language will be depends on his activity. I mentioned our collection of short stories, but among other things, we are currently developing a project with the Center linguistic research world poetry of the Academy of Sciences. These will be meetings and workshops for both Spanish speakers and Russian poets. I don’t know what exactly will come out of this, but everything that we do within the framework of this cross-year will be aimed precisely at attaching special importance to translation, because, ultimately, the image of literature depends on this. My first attempt to read Lermontov - I don't even remember what language I read it in, Spanish or French - ended in failure, because the translation was terrible. Therefore, my story with Lermontov did not work out.
On the other hand, people are drawn to the familiar, it is very difficult for them to introduce something new. No matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, the first names that come to mind with the words “Russian literature” are Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Tolstoy. But no one talks about Blok, for example. Why? Even though it has been translated. So this is a problem that always comes up. But despite it, it is very important to do the work that we are doing, precisely so that the work of translators is properly assessed, and so that this image of foreign literature is created and strives for completeness.
Which Spanish writers are you going to bring this year and when?
We don't know yet. Inviting a writer is a multi-faceted matter, because there are three important aspects when we decide who to invite. For example, we are wondering if it is possible to invite a writer who has not yet been translated. We invite not a person, but an author. And on the other hand, if we decide to invite an already translated writer, then we need to look at how famous he is, how famous his translations are - because if they are already known, then why do we need our institutional assistance? If the author is not yet known, you can refer to the same journal " Foreign literature and agree that two months before the author's arrival, they publish some of his works. That is, it is a whole strategy and philosophy.
At Non/Fiction we are going to bring two co-authors of the popular Alfaguara teen novel series, Andreu Martin and Jaume Ribera. One of their books will be published by Samokat, and we are planning a joint presentation at a book fair. In addition to Spanish writers, Non/Fiction will be attended by several authors from Latin America Perhaps the Mexican Flavio Gonzalez Mello, Paraguayan Juan Manuel Marcos, there are several other interesting candidates - we are preparing this program with the Latin American embassies. Interesting project conceived in the central office of our Instituto Cervantes - this is the "Week of Literature in Spanish". A group of Spanish writers, 7-10 people, goes to one of the cities, and a certain topic is chosen. In Rome it was “humor”, in Munich it was “the image of the other”, in Paris it was “aggression”, in Naples it was “many-sided”, writers of the country where the week is held are invited, and in a variety of formats (round tables, readings, discussions, meetings with a variety of audiences) a given topic is discussed. We are planning something similar in Moscow.
What about Arturo Perez-Reverte? It seems to be the most famous of contemporary Spanish, that is, writers living in Spain. Why not bring him?
Perez-Reverte Cervantes Institute does not carry. There are a number of authors who do not travel at the expense of public institutions, at the expense of public money. They just don't need this help. This is their decision - not to travel at public expense, not ours - we would have taken them. In general, the world of translated literature is full of surprises. I am recently in Moscow, I still do not know very well what has been translated over the years, but what I saw now among the translations of Spanish literature into Russian surprised me very pleasantly. There were authors whom I did not even expect to be translated, but they were published. For example, a young and very promising Mexican author Martin Solares. In personal correspondence with him, I learned that a book was being published in Russia - I did not expect that you would figure it out so quickly here that he was good. First Prize to them. Garcia Marquez in Colombia received the Argentine writer Guillermo Martinez - very interesting author despite the fact that he is a mathematician by profession. He received an award for short stories, but his novel Unnoticed Murders has been translated into Russian.
I was completely struck by the novel by the Chilean author Letelier, Fata Morgana of Love with Orchestra. I realized that I knew absolutely nothing about the amazing country of Chile! But this is also part of the Spanish world.
Yes, and this is very interesting - a whole kaleidoscope of authors who are published here in Russia. This is the reality of our Hispanic world. At the same time, Spaniards, Chileans, and Argentines are being transferred to Russia, and this also enriches this common space.
I can only express my admiration for how harmoniously everything is going on with you. I don't even know who to compare it to.
It still seems to me that this is something not man-made, but organic. That is, this situation has developed naturally. If we imagine a reader who enters a Spanish bookstore and is confronted by all the literary diversity - although of course, in a Spanish bookstore there will be more choice Spanish authors - but, nevertheless, he reaches out to a book that attracted him with a title or maybe a cover, and he most likely does not think about whether the author who wrote this book is from Madrid or from Cusco. This is the reality of Spanish-language literature.
The Year of Literature.RF thanks Anna Shkolnik and Tatyana Pigareva () for their help in organizing the interview, as well as Sophia Sno for her help in preparing the material.
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I bring to your attention the second issue of the column "Magnificent Five". I continue the topic of literature and this time I will turn to the country of my scientific interest- Spain. The Spanish literary tradition is very rich and original, however, in the context of world literature, the names and works of Spanish authors are somewhat lost against the background of Russian, Anglo-American, German and French literature. It is the low fame of many worthy authors that prompts me to turn to this topic. To what extent the tradition of a particular country is represented in world culture, and why this happens is an interesting question, and I have already addressed it in one of my articles (
There is one outstanding Spanish author whose name is known to everyone. He became a kind of symbol not only of all Spanish literature, but also of the culture of this country, a spokesman for "Spanishness". This, of course, is about Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the creator of Don Quixote, who became " in an eternal way"of world literature and a "typically Spanish" hero. Of course, in the history of Spanish literature there are still such world-famous names as, for example, Garcia Lorca and Lope de Vega. However, the authors named were poets and playwrights. I want to pay attention to the Spanish prose writers. Of course, the authors listed below were not limited to prose and many of them wrote both poetry and plays, but still the most significant and well-known part of their creative heritage was prose works. The selection includes outstanding Spanish writers, except for Cervantes, who, to one degree or another, can be attributed to the "classics of Spanish literature", and whose works have been translated into Russian.
Miguel de Unamuno (1864 - 1936)
The Spaniards themselves and connoisseurs of Spain joke that in the history of Spanish literature there are two great Miguels “Miguel de Unamuno and Miguel de Una Mano” De Una Mano - translated from Spanish means “one-armed”, a hint of the same Cervantes, who, as you know, lost hand in the battle of Lepanto. The parallel with Cervantes is not accidental here, and it is not just a play on words. Miguel Unamuno left his mark not only as a prose writer, but also as a philosopher. In his work, he often turned to the great Spanish image - Don Quixote. Connoisseurs of Spanish literature and philosophy know him as "the most important Quixote", one of the outstanding interpreters of the great image that made Quixote a Spanish religion and Don Quixote a Spanish Christ. The national and ideological crisis of Spain was depicted by the philosopher as “The path to the tomb of Don Quixote”. Unamuno also wrote an adaptation of the novel by the great Cervantes, The Life of Don Quixote and Sancho, Told and Interpreted by Miguel Unamuno. Of the philosophical works of Unamuno, the most famous is his essay "On the tragic feeling of life", where he expresses ideas close to emerging existentialism. The thinker, considered the "progenitor of existentialism" Soren Kierkegaard, Unamuno calls "mi hermano dines" (my Danish brother).
Adaptation of the image of Don Quixote and philosophical works Unamuno's work is not limited, he left a fairly large literary heritage. His main works: "Fog", "Abel Sanchez", "Peace in the midst of war", "Love and Pedagogy", in them philosophical ideas Unamuno gain literary form. Literary lovers often draw parallels between national literary traditions. A parallel with Russian literature allows us to recall another spiritual hermano of Miguel - hermano Teodoro (brother Fyodor). Of course, we are talking about Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. With some degree of conventionality, Unamuno can be called the "Spanish Dostoevsky." Parallels in the work and ideas of these two thinkers are seen by many philosophers and literary critics.
Ramon Maria del Valle Inclan (1866 - 1936)
Ramon Maria del Valle Inclan - a contemporary of Unamuno and his colleague in the "Generation of 98" This is a phenomenon in Spanish literature at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries, which is worth writing about separately. The authors assigned to the generation were united by the feeling of the "acute historical crisis" of Spain. If, again, we try to describe the work of Valle-Inklan through parallels with Russian literature, we get an explosive mixture. His books are something between M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin and D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak (and I note that all three double surnames). The language of Valle-Inklan's works cannot leave anyone indifferent; he wrote very figuratively. This author is an excellent stylist and in this he is similar to Mamin-Sibiryak. To translate Valya's works into Russian, you need to have considerable talent, so one cannot fail to note the translators of his novels and short stories into Russian, who perfectly conveyed the author's "authentic" style. With the second named Russian writer Valle-Inklan, again very conditionally, the satirical orientation of the works is related. His satire is not direct, very witty, one might even say subtle. Don Ramon himself called his works "esperpento" and is considered the founder of this peculiar phenomenon of Spanish literature. This word is translated as "nonsense". In the works of Valle-Inklan there is a certain "grotesqueness", "a combination of incongruous". With all this, the works are very cinematic, they have a lot of dialogues and quite “cinematic” images. The author had a great influence on the formation of the traditions of Spanish cinema, the best examples of which will seem peculiar to the average viewer of the era of mass culture, to put it mildly. He was the favorite writer of the great cinematographer L. Bunuel, whose films were distinguished by the grotesque, improvisation and creative flight. This is typical of all Spanish cinema, remember at least relatively contemporary film"A Sad Ballad for Trumpet" by Alex de la Iglesia. And the roots of this approach to creativity grow from the prose of the recognized classic of Spanish literature - Ramon Valle-Inclan. His most significant works translated into Russian are the cycle "Carlist Wars", "The Color of Holiness", "Tyrant Banderos".
Benito Perez Galdos (1843 - 1920)
Perhaps the main classic of Spanish literature of the XIX century. And here again there is a parallel. Perez Galdos is nothing less than the Spanish Leo Tolstoy. It is worth noting that these two authors are contemporaries who lived a long life and worked "with different parties Europe". His "National Episodes", consisting of a cycle of works, only some of which have been translated into Russian, is a whole panorama of Spanish life and Spanish history, comparable in scope to Lev Nikolayevich's "War and Peace". Don Benito wrote more than 20 novels, the events described in them cover almost a whole century of Spanish history, from the invasion of Napoleon (the novel Trafalgar, for which he received comparison with Tolstoy) until the 70s of the XIX century, when Spain was proclaimed republic. Worthy of attention are also his novels such as "Dona Perfecta" and "Tristana". Perez Galdos - a classic of Spanish critical realism, an authentic example of Spanish prose at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Juan Valera (1824 - 1905)
It just so happened that after the "golden age" of Cervantes, the next dawn of Spanish culture happened in the second half of the 19th - early 20th century, and almost all the participants in this collection are representatives of the same era. The next one is Juan Valera, who, together with Perez Galdos, is one of the founders and main representatives of " classical realism”, also has a “Russian counterpart”. Western European critics, drawing a very conditional parallel, call Juan Valera "Spanish Turgenev", noting that in the "breadth of setting" social problems, Valera is inferior to the great Russian author, his work is more focused on personal experiences. However, the Spanish and Russian classics have in common "deep psychologism" and "poetic prose". Juan Valera's main book is Pepita Jimenez. Valera wrote it during the years of the "democratic six years" and the establishment of the first republic, when "a radical revolution set in motion and unsettled everything in Spain." The historical context, of course, left its mark on the author's work, reflected in the images of the characters, giving easy book"didactic load", which Valera himself, however, denied.
Camilo Jose Sela
Camilo José Cela (1916 - 2002) is the only representative of Spanish literature of the 20th century in our selection and the only prose writer from Spain who was awarded Nobel Prize(Received in 1989). For the sake of fairness, it should be said that in the history of Spanish literature 5 Nobel laureates, but everyone else received an award for their poetic creations. José Sela is an innovator who has become a classic, a man who reflected in his work the originality of both Spanish and all the latest Spanish-language literature. His work in many ways became a "new milestone" in the development of the tradition laid down by Valle-Inclan, inscribed in the context of the literary era of the new century. José Sela expressed "Spanish irrationality" in literature, feature Spanish culture, called “lo espa ñol”, which was reflected in the cinema by Buñuel, and in painting by Salvador Dali. The direction of his work is defined as "tragedy", characterized by an appeal to " dark side man", grotesque and deliberate rudeness. Sela caught and reworked in Spanish the latest trends in the European literary process, for the sake of the semantic and emotional load, he left the plot a secondary role, abandoned the classical narrative in the spirit of realism. One of his main works is considered to be "The Beehive". The author does not focus on such important details for realism as "time" and "location", giving these categories some new, metaphorical meaning, thus showing the "universality" of the stories he told. The Beehive novel is densely populated with characters, which is consistent with the title. This is a very peculiar image of the "ebullency of life", behind which lies the tragedy of each specific fate. Also known are such works of the author as "The Family of Pascal Duarte" - the first work of the writer, published in 1942, and "Mazurka for Two Dead", which became one of the later ones. "Mazurka", written after the fall of the Frank dictatorship, which accounted for a significant part of creative way author. In the mid-70s, after the death of the dictator, seeing the crisis of the national literary tradition, who succumbed to the mass trends of "open" Europe, Jose Sela remarked: "It's amazing, but under Franco we wrote better than now."
Bonus- Miguel Delibes was not in the selection, certainly a worthy Spanish author, a “modern classic”, whose name is given to the library in the Moscow branch of the Cervantes Institute. However, I will remind you that my selections are informative and are not intended to identify the “best of the best”. About the “third Miguel”, Delibes and his novel “The Heretic”, I already wrote earlier, in one of the previous articles, reflecting characteristics creativity of this author in the context of Spanish literature. In this article, I did not consider it necessary to repeat myself, drawing the reader's attention to other worthy names.
List top bestsellers contemporary Spanish writers.
From the series: "Everyone should know this."
Advice: Be sure to learn the names and titles of the books in Spanish! And try to read at least one of them. At least in Russian.
Spanish samples classical literature known all over the world: who does not know Cervantes' Don Quixote, Lope de Vega's comedies or Lorca's inimitable poems.
And what do we know about contemporary Spanish writers?
Not many can boast of knowledge of modern Spanish literature, although among the masters of the pen there are those whose talent is highly appreciated by readers and critics both in Spain itself and in other countries.
We offer an overview of the works of five of the best contemporary Spanish writers, whose works have become world bestsellers.
1. "The Amazing Journey of Pomponius Flata" by Eduardo Mendoza
According to critics, Eduardo Mendoza is one of the best contemporary Spanish writers. His novels have won Spanish and international awards. literary prizes films are made on them.
The writer's debut took place in 1975, when the novel The Truth about the Savolta Affair came out, which revolutionized Spanish literature.
A somewhat parody and even satirical novel by Mendoza, The Amazing Journey of Pomponius Flata, is dedicated to the Roman philosopher and naturalist.
While searching for some mythical rivers with miraculous properties main character meets Jesus.
The plot of the book intertwines stories from the Bible, information from ancient authors and philosophical reflections.
2. Pandora in the Congo by Alberto Sanchez Pignol
A native of Catalonia, Alberto Sanchez Piñol is an anthropologist by training. He became famous for his first novel, In Heady Silence, which was translated into 22 languages of the world.
And in 2005, his novel in Catalan "Pandora in the Congo" was published.
Both of these works are part of a trilogy about those who eat human personality fears.
The novel with a share of mysticism "Pandora in the Congo" tells about the expedition of two English aristocrats to the African jungle for diamonds and gold, where various troubles happen to them.
Moreover, they discover an unknown tribe there. The work ends quite unexpectedly and even ironically.
3. "Sweater" Blanca Busquets
(“El jersey”. Blanca busquets)
The Catalan Blanca Busquets developed a craving for literature at the age of 12, when she wrote her first story. And at the age of 17, a native of Barcelona was awarded the first award in the field of literature.
Busquets' novel Sweater tells the story of an 85-year-old woman who lost her voice as a result of a stroke and is forced to listen to the complaints of all her relatives, although she cannot answer them at least something.
So the heroine of the novel, Dolores, becomes the keeper of other people's secrets. They treat it like an interior item, they are not shy. As a result, she comes to the shock that is hiding in the bowels of the family. And all this time she knits a sweater for her beloved granddaughter.
Dorores is shocked. And then he realizes that these problems are insignificant, and there is only Love and Death. And there is such a love story in the book.
The book has been translated into Russian and can be read for free on the Internet. And it's worth it, read the reviews!
4. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
(“sombra del viento” Carlos Ruiz Zafó)
Today, Carlos Ruiz Zafon is one of the most popular and read contemporary writers not only in Spain, but also in the world.
Safon's debut took place in 1993 with the novel The Prince of the Mist, which won several literary awards.
In 2001, the novel The Shadow of the Wind was published, written in the tradition of medieval novels. This work was awarded 15 prestigious awards and was a bestseller in Europe for a long time, with a circulation of 5 million copies.
The novel tells about a 10-year-old boy who falls into the hands of a mystical book that changed his life. A real mystical adventure that is read in one breath.
The action of the work takes place over 20 years, when love and hate, mysticism and detective investigations are closely intertwined in the life of the protagonist.
The book has been translated into Russian and can be read for free on the Internet.
5. “Crocodile under the bed” by Mariasun Landa
(“Crocodile bajo de cama”, Mariasun Landa)
Great children's book, serious and funny.
A native of the Basque Country, Mirasun Landa graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature and today successfully combines teaching at the Master's School of the University of the Basque Country with her creative work.
In 1991, she won the Basque Prize (a prize in the field of literature for children and adolescents), and the book written in Basque, The Crocodile Under the Bed, was awarded the National Prize in 2003.
The book has been translated into Russian and can be read for free on the Internet.
More about books in Spain:
Spanish literature originates in the XII century, when it was born and finally took shape. Before that, the peoples who lived in the territory modern Spain, wrote and communicated exclusively in Latin. The entire history of this literature can be roughly divided into four periods. This is the period of origin, the period of prosperity, the period of decline and imitation and the period of rebirth.
"Song of My Sid"
One of the most ancient works of the Spaniards called "The Song of My Side" belongs to the period of the birth of Spanish literature. In him unknown author sings national hero by the name of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, who is known to many under the Arabic nickname Sid.
Presumably, it was written no later than 1200, but it has not survived in its entirety. At the same time, it is "The Song of My Sid" that is a classic example of the literature of that period. In it you can find patriotic motives, the heroes are pious, faithful and devoted to their king.
Literary critics noted that the language of the work itself is very rude and as simple as possible, but it is imbued with the spirit of heroism, paints a vivid picture of life during the time of chivalry.
Spanish literature of the Renaissance
In this period beneficial effect the Spaniards have Italian masters. In poetry, Juan Boscan, who worked in the 16th century, occupies the leading role. He often turned to the traditions of Petrarch, enriching Spanish poetry with 10-syllable verse, sonnets and octaves. often worked with antique scenes. For example, in the poem "Hero and Leander".
The religious epic in literature can be studied on the basis of the works of John of the Cross. He wrote treatises in prose under the titles " Dark night souls", " living flame love", "Climbing Mount Carmel".
The pastoral novel is very popular in the literature of the Spanish Renaissance. Prominent representatives of this trend are Gaspar Polo and Alonso Perez, who wrote a sequel to Montemayor's popular shepherd's novel Diana Enamorada, which for a long time remained a classic pastoral novel in Spain.
Renaissance literature in Spain is for many associated with the advent of the picaresque novel. His hallmarks become realistic image manners modern society as well as human characters. The founder of this genre in Spain is Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, who wrote the story "Lazarillo from Tormes".
A prominent representative of Spanish literature of this period is the playwright Lope de Vega, who was born in 1562. Before him, there were playwrights in Spain, but there was no national Spanish drama yet. It was de Vega who managed to create a classical Spanish theater, to become a vivid expression of the feelings and wishes of his people.
For about 40 years he wrote new plays, enjoying great popularity all this time. In addition, he was incredibly prolific, writing more than two thousand plays, about 20 volumes lyric poems as well as many poems. had a significant impact on the next generation of writers, not only Spanish but also Italian and French playwrights. It is with his name that the heyday of Spanish drama is associated.
In his plays, the author touches on all sorts of topics - foreign and domestic history, socio-political, love dramas and historical chronicles. The historical layer occupies a separate place in his works. The plays of the playwright are constructed in such a way that certain random events, which bring the drama of the work to the degree of tragedy. Romantic intrigue often helps to reveal the full power of the human instincts of the main characters, Lope de Vega demonstrates a variety of human characters, behaviors in society and the family, while not forgetting the religious and political ideas that dominate among his contemporaries.
Perhaps his most famous work is the comedy in three acts "Dog in the Manger". This is one of the most famous books of the golden age of Spanish literature. He wrote it in 1618. At the center of the story is a young widow from Naples named Diana. Teodoro's secretary takes over her heart. However, the situation is aggravated due to the fact that Teodoro himself sympathizes with her servant Marcela, they even have a wedding planned.
Diana unsuccessfully tries to cope with her feelings. Then she writes a letter to her chosen one on behalf of a fictitious Roman friend, in which she confesses her feelings and asks the young man to evaluate this text and rewrite it with her own hand. The man guesses about her true reasons while realizing that there is an abyss between them. Marcela is exhausted from jealousy, besides, Diana locks her in her bedchamber for several days.
Teodoro himself is going through hard times at this time, the countess plays with him, first giving hope for a further relationship, and then pushing him away from her. As a result, Teodoro breaks up with Marcelo in order to take revenge on him, the girl brings Fabio's servant closer to her.
Teodoro at some point breaks down, splashing out on the countess all the emotions that he has accumulated during this time. The main thing he reproaches Diana is that she behaves like a dog in the manger. Diana slaps the young man, behind which lies real passion which she feels for the young man. This fascinating story still keeps the audience in suspense, the play is regularly performed on the stages of theaters around the world.
Calderon
Spanish literature of the 17th century is associated with the name of Calderon for many. He was not only a poet, but also a successful warrior and priest. No less popular than Lope de Vega.
He demonstrated a high level of his skill in the construction of the plot, as well as in various stage effects, which he actively used in his works.
Calderon, like Lope de Vega, wrote many plays - about 200, and was much more popular abroad than at home. Literary critics of that time put him on a par with Shakespeare. Some of his plays are still shown in Spanish theaters.
His works can be divided into three types. These are dramas of honor, they are dominated by baroque issues - religion, love and honor. The key conflict is often associated with the need to comply with them, even sacrificing human life. Although the action has been moved into the distant past, the author raises actual problems of his time. These are such dramas as "The Alcalde of Salamey", "The Painter of His Disgrace", "The Steadfast Prince".
Philosophical dramas, which were very popular in the Spanish literature of the 17th century, touch upon the fundamental questions of being, human suffering, and free will. At the same time, the action is transferred to countries exotic for Spain, such as Russia or Ireland, in order to emphasize the local and historical flavor. Among the examples are the works "Magician", "Life is a dream", "Purgatory of St. Patrick". Spanish literature about Russia was of interest to many of Calderon's contemporaries at that time, which is why he was so popular.
And finally, Calderon's comedies of intrigue are built according to classical canons. They are fascinating, often love affair initiated by women. You can often come across the "calderon move" that has become famous, when the key role is played by objects that happen to be with the heroes by chance, or letters that come to them by mistake.
Cervantes
The study of Spanish literature for beginner connoisseurs of literature must begin with famous novel Miguel de Cervantes "Don Quixote". This is one of the most significant literary works in world history. The first part of this novel appeared in 1605. Initially, the work was conceived as a parody of chivalric romances. As a result, it became so popular that it was translated into all European languages.
Cervantes tells in an ironic way about the adventures of a cunning hidalgo who is trying to live according to the old knightly ways, although the world around him has fundamentally changed. Others make fun of him, but Don Quixote himself is not at all embarrassed, he, not paying attention to the opinions of others, leads. Only his servant Sancho Panso, who endures all the eccentricities of his master, remains faithful and devoted to him.
Cervantes is also known as the author of numerous short stories, which depict the absolute truth of life, imbued with a national graceful spirit. In his stories, he depicts the era as realistically as possible, striking the reader with a rich and vivid language. This bright pattern Spanish classical literature.
Baroque
In the history of Spanish literature there was both a period of decline and imitation. It coincides with the era of the Spanish Baroque, which began at the end XVI century. It was then that the Gongrism school arose, named after its main and brightest representative, Luis Gongora.
The early works of this author are songs and romances written in the folk spirit. In more late period of his work, he was distinguished by an intricate, pompous and sometimes artificial style, which saturated with a large number of metaphors and strange turns. Often his works were so complex in form that they were not accessible to every reader for understanding. main theme there was an idea of the fragility and inconstancy of human existence in this world. These are the features characteristic of the Spanish Baroque.
He had many students and imitators, among whom we can mention Villamed, who, like the rest, main goal I set myself to repeat the style of the teacher as much as possible.
19th century literature
In the 19th century, Spanish literature flourished. At this time, the dominant pseudo-classicism was replaced by romanticism. One of the most prominent representatives of this era is Jose Mariano de Larra, who worked under the pseudonym Figaro. He had an incredibly bright satirical talent, which was combined with natural ingenuity and an inquisitive mind. He depicts the plagues and vices that reign in society, creating meaningful, but at the same time very short essays.
If we talk about the more serious dramatic Spanish literature of the 19th century, then it is necessary to mention Manuel Tamayo y Baus, who actually introduced new genre- Spanish psychological and realistic drama based on the best German samples. True, his works were practically not translated into Russian, so it is not easy for a domestic reader to evaluate his talent.
Prose writer Juan Valera stands out among the representatives of realism. Graduate Faculty of Law University of Granada, he held high positions in the diplomatic service, having traveled half the world for work. He finally returned to Spain after the revolution of 1868, holding a number of government positions up to the Minister of Education.
Valera made his debut in Spanish literature with a collection of soulful lyric poems, then wrote speeches and critical articles in which he depicted the current state of national literature. A notable phenomenon in his creative biography the novel "Pepita Jimenez" becomes, after him he writes the works "Juanita Long", "Illusions of Doctor Faustino", which left a mark. During his travels around the world, Valera visited Russia, he left detailed notes about his trip.
If we talk about novelists in the Spanish literature of this period, then Benito Perez Galdos has an obvious primacy, whose novels were distinguished by a fresh look at ordinary things, realistic and unusually lively pictures that illustrated modern Spanish life.
20th century
Spanish literature of the 20th century plays big role V public life. At the very beginning of the century, it was based on representatives of the "Generation of 98". This is the name given to a group of Spanish writers who are experiencing an acute crisis due to the final collapse of the empire in 1898. Most of them by the beginning of the 20th century were from 35 to 45 years old.
Vicente Blasco Ibanez is considered one of the largest representatives of this direction. This is a famous social novelist, who in his work embodied the ideas of democratic criticism of the surrounding reality.
His novels are the most popular. in spanish fiction a special place is occupied by the work "The Cursed Farm". Events unfold in a small village near Valencia. In the center of the story is a landowner who earns money by usury, as well as his tenants.
The novel "In the Orange Orchards" shows the relationship between the young politician and lawyer Raphael Brull and popular singer Leonora. Ibanez, as he often does in his works, describes several generations of one family, tells how its members climbed the career and status ladder. His heroes live in a religious and very conservative family, which is opposed by the doctor and intellectual Dr. Moreno, who is a Republican in his convictions.
Another one famous book Ibanez "Reed and Silt" is a vivid story about three generations of fishermen who live and work on the shores of a small lake Albufera. It was her author himself who considered his best work. It depicts grandfather Paloma, oldest fisherman throughout the village, which monitors the observance of professional traditions and in every possible way protects the honor of the family. His son Tono is a decent and hardworking person who leaves his father's profession in order to start cultivating the land and make money on it. And now his son, named Drowning, is a loafer who is not capable of any work, but spends most of his time at festivities and in entertainment establishments.
A real classic of Spanish literature in the 20th century is the work of the poet Federico Garcia Lorca. He has been described as a key figure in the "Generation of 27", which included Spanish writers and poets who considered themselves followers of the Spanish Baroque poet Luis de Gongora. In 1927 it was exactly 300 years since his death.
As a child, Lorca did not study well, but in the 1910s he began to show himself in local art communities. In 1918 he published his first collection of poetry entitled "Impressions and Landscapes", which immediately made him famous, although it did not bring much money.
In 1919, in Madrid, Lorca met the most significant artists of his time - the director and artist Salvador Dali. In the same period, he begins to write his first dramatic works.
As a result, he becomes a prominent figure among avant-garde artists, releasing poetry collections "Gypsy Romancero", in which he tries to mix the mythology of the gypsies with the everyday life around him.
For about a year, Lorca leaves for America, and when he returns, he finds the emerging Second Spanish Republic. Many call his work a real breakthrough in Spanish literature. The poet and playwright works a lot in the theater, creating his famous plays "Bernard Alba's House", "Bloody Weddings" and "Yerma".
Starts in Spain Civil War in 1936. Lorca has sympathy for the left, so he is forced to leave the capital for Granada. But even there he is in danger. The poet is arrested and, according to the main version, shot the very next day. After his assassination, General Franco, who came to power, forbids all his work. Adapted Literature in Spanish in Russia for a long time was studied precisely on the basis of the works of Lorca.
Another prominent representative of the literature of the 20th century is the writer and philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset. Popularity came to him in 1914, when he published his first work entitled "Reflections on Don Quixote". In his philosophical lectures, he adhered to the position of young intellectuals of his time, some researchers believe that it was his work that played a special role in the fall of the monarchy.
Among his most famous works such as "The theme of our time", "Dehumanization of art" should be noted. Formulating his key philosophical ideas, he insists that a person cannot consider himself in isolation from historical circumstances and the people around him.
Popularity outside of Spain came to him after the publication of the work "The Revolt of the Masses", in which he declares that the only existing reality is human being-with-things. Ortega was convinced that his conclusions anticipated many of the ideas of Martin Heidegger, which were set forth in 1927 in the work "Being and Time".
Ortega played a big role in the development of the Spanish philosophical school, teaching activities. For example, the basis of the book "What is Philosophy" was his lectures given in 1929 at the University of Madrid.
In modern Spanish literature, the loudest and most famous name- Arturo Perez-Reverte. This is our contemporary, who is 66 years old. Since the early 1970s, he has worked as a war correspondent, covering conflicts in hot spots around the world.
He devoted his first novel entitled "The Hussar" to the times of the Napoleonic Wars. Real success came to him in 1990, when the novel The Flemish Board saw the light of day. This is a fascinating mixture of action-packed detective story and a fascinating book. During the restoration of a 15th-century painting, the main characters discover an inscription hidden from prying eyes. The painting depicts a chess position, analyzing the arrangement of pieces on it, the characters are trying to solve a mysterious murder that was committed in the 15th century.
In 1994, the novel was filmed by Jim McBride.
In 1993, Perez-Reverte wrote another of his famous work- This is the novel "Club Dumas, or the Shadow of Richelieu." The events in it are no less exciting. The action takes place in the world of books. All the heroes are second-hand booksellers, bibliophiles, bookbinders, or simply passionate lovers and fans of books. Among them are those who prefer "cloak and sword" novels, and those who love detective stories or works on demonology.
One of them is the bibliophile Varo Borja, who hires a specialist to compare three known copies of a unique edition called "The Book of the Nine Gates to the Realm of Shadows", which was published in 1666 by the little-known printer Aristide Torchia. Torquia was later accused of heresy by the Holy Inquisition and then burned at the stake. The circulation of the book was almost completely destroyed, only a few copies have survived to this day.
Borja admits that he studied the interrogations of the printer, from which it follows that there is another copy of this book, hidden in a secret place. This fact haunts the main character. He wants, by all means, to find out which of the three copies is real.
This task, simple at first glance, turns into big trouble for the researcher. Someone is after him, killing everyone he meets or crosses paths in any way. At the end of the work, most of the mysteries receive a very unexpected explanation. It is not possible to explain in a rational way only the main riddle. The only conclusion that suggests itself to the reader, based on hints and circumstantial evidence scattered by the author throughout the novel, is incredible and fantastic.
This novel has also been filmed. The film was directed by the legendary Roman Polanski and starred Johnny Depp, Lena Olin and Emmanuel Seigner.
There is also a whole cycle of works that glorified Perez-Reverte. These are historical adventure novels from the Adventures of Captain Alatriste series. In 1996, the series was opened by the work "Captain Alatriste", followed by "Pure Blood", "Spanish Fury", "King's Gold", "Cavalier in a yellow tunic", "Corsairs of the Levant", "Bridge of Assassins".
It is a great joy when the thoughts of loved ones are in tune with your own. But even greater pleasure for me is the moment of recognizing myself in books. No matter how many years ago they were written, for you it is relevant now, at this moment. Therefore, one of the main values of literature, I see it is its timelessness, as if it serves as proof of its non-linearity. For me, for example, Unamuno, Cortazar and Galeano are equally relevant - three centuries - the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first go hand in hand.
When I first read one of the shortest and most famous micro stories * ( microrrelatos) in Spanish, I did not understand anything. Or rather, I understood the text perfectly, but I could not catch why these 7 words are so popular? Why they are quoted all over the world, they are dedicated to scientific works, and how magically did they inspire a lot of people to create something important?
Manuel Rivas' reflections on what happens to men
Autorretrato sin mi. Parte 2. El niño interior.
Autorretrato sin mi. Horas de serenidad
Juan José Millas - inventor of a new literary genre
Talk to the dog, or rather read Antonio Gala
Yesterday, before going to bed, I read the dialogues of Antonio Gala with his dog Troilo, collected in a single book " Charlas con Troylo”and enjoyed the beauty of the style, the power and accuracy of his words, the depth of themes and the ability to show us the beauty of things through the prism of his gaze. He does it so skillfully that after reading, part of this beauty, depth and contemplative silence remains with us.
