Don Quixote
About the book
A reader of chivalric romances sets out on adventures with Sancho Panza.
Original title: Don Quijote de la Mancha
Europe · A READING GUIDE
Spain
Laforet’s Nada and Rodoreda’s The Time of the Doves offer two entrances into Barcelona and the Civil War’s aftermath; Rodoreda wrote in Catalan. Cervantes proposes a long journey through adventure and parody, while Pardo Bazán portrays provincial power. Marías and Cercas require patient reconstruction in pursuing truth. Zafón supplies a literary mystery, Aramburu a family view of the Basque conflict, and Llamazares the voice of a deserted village’s last inhabitant.
WHERE TO START
- Don QuixoteMiguel de Cervantes
- NadaCarmen Laforet
- The Time of the DovesMercè Rodoreda
Books to begin with
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Nada
About the book
Andrea arrives in Barcelona to study and moves into her relatives’ tension-filled home.
The Time of the Doves
About the book
Natàlia struggles through marriage, civil war and hunger in Barcelona.
Original title: La plaça del Diamant
A Heart So White
About the book
A newly married interpreter begins uncovering his father’s unspoken past.
Original title: Corazón tan blanco
The Shadow of the Wind
About the book
Daniel chooses a forgotten novel and follows the mystery of its author.
Original title: La sombra del viento
The Family of Pascual Duarte
About the book
Condemned to death, Pascual Duarte records his family’s violence and his own crimes.
Original title: La familia de Pascual Duarte
Homeland
About the book
Two Basque families are divided by ETA violence and its aftermath.
Original title: Patria
Soldiers of Salamis
About the book
A writer reconstructs a Falangist’s survival of an execution near the end of the Spanish Civil War.
Original title: Soldados de Salamina
The House of Ulloa
About the book
A young priest arrives at a Galician estate marked by violence and moral decay.
Original title: Los pazos de Ulloa
The Yellow Rain
About the book
The last inhabitant of an abandoned Pyrenean village recalls its people and his past.
Original title: La lluvia amarilla
The Infatuations
About the book
A daily observer of a married couple becomes entangled in a story of murder and uncertain affections.
Berta Isla
About the book
A marriage unfolds under the shadow of secrets tied to British intelligence.
Context and sources
Sources on authors and their connections to this country. Specific edition details appear beside each book. Polish and English originals are not labelled as translations.
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