Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Madrid - Barcelona, Espasa
Description
In the summer of 1946, seven years after the end of the Spanish Civil War, Camilo Jose Cela set out on foot to discover the heart of Spain. He chose the Alcarria because it was a place reknowned for its Spanishness.
User reviews
LibraryThing member AriadneAranea
A rather evocative and meandering account of Cela's wanderings through the Spanish region of the Alcarria, during the 1940s, just a few years after the civil war.
You do get used to Cela's slightly annoying self-deprecating use of the third person to refer to himself (namelessly, as "the traveller
You do get used to Cela's slightly annoying self-deprecating use of the third person to refer to himself (namelessly, as "the traveller
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does this, the traveller does that"). You even get used to the way he unfailingly describes each of the towns and villages that he passes through not just by its architecture, agriculture, culture and so on, but also by a brief and charming sketch of what its women are like. In the end, I think I kind of enjoyed it - like Hemingway, only more readable. Show Less
LibraryThing member thorold
Despite Cela's reputation for literary experimentation and scandalous content, this little book seems to be relatively innocent and straightforward, its only obvious eccentricity being the use of the third person instead of the first person narrative that is usual in travel books: Cela refers to
The book describes a tour Cela made of the Alcarria region, to the north-east of Madrid, in 1946, seven years after the end of the civil war. He sets out from Guadalajara and makes his way, mostly on foot, in a big arc, travelling from village to village and staying in the local inns (posadas, paraderos and fondas). Although he comes across a great deal of poverty, neglect, hardship and ignorance, the tone of the book is determinedly upbeat. The traveller wants to tell us about the beauties of the countryside and villages of the region, and about the amazing diversity of the ways people respond to the challenges of living there. The great charm of the book really lies in the traveller's frequently very offbeat dialogues with the characters he meets (shepherds, a slightly deranged tramp, a super-sharp commercial traveller, a monumentally ignorant local antiquary, various innkeepers, ...).
Whether the narrator entirely agrees with the traveller's optimistic view of things is something we have to make our own minds up about. He does tell us directly in his introduction that there are bad things he has suppressed from the text (the village where they mistook him for a wanted criminal and put him in jail overnight), and he drops a few hints about his exasperation with people who are so concerned with lamenting the passing of the golden age that they don't bother to take simple steps to improve their own environments (e.g. by looking after historic buildings).
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himself throughout as "el viajero" (the traveller). This gives the book a sort of quirky archness, which is irritating at first but soon comes to seem natural. It probably allows him to distance himself a bit further from the story and add a layer of irony. Perhaps it is also meant to remind the reader that a travel book has to be read as a literary construction, not an unfiltered account of a journey.The book describes a tour Cela made of the Alcarria region, to the north-east of Madrid, in 1946, seven years after the end of the civil war. He sets out from Guadalajara and makes his way, mostly on foot, in a big arc, travelling from village to village and staying in the local inns (posadas, paraderos and fondas). Although he comes across a great deal of poverty, neglect, hardship and ignorance, the tone of the book is determinedly upbeat. The traveller wants to tell us about the beauties of the countryside and villages of the region, and about the amazing diversity of the ways people respond to the challenges of living there. The great charm of the book really lies in the traveller's frequently very offbeat dialogues with the characters he meets (shepherds, a slightly deranged tramp, a super-sharp commercial traveller, a monumentally ignorant local antiquary, various innkeepers, ...).
Whether the narrator entirely agrees with the traveller's optimistic view of things is something we have to make our own minds up about. He does tell us directly in his introduction that there are bad things he has suppressed from the text (the village where they mistook him for a wanted criminal and put him in jail overnight), and he drops a few hints about his exasperation with people who are so concerned with lamenting the passing of the golden age that they don't bother to take simple steps to improve their own environments (e.g. by looking after historic buildings).
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LibraryThing member Kristelh
Or travels through the Spanish Countryside is a travel book of Camilo José Cela. The author was awarded the 1989 Nobel Prize of Literature. It is a sketchbook of the region of Alcarria. The author decides to go on a walk. He does ride a bus, some carts but generally walks. He gives us his
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impressions of the area as he wanders through the area. Cela is an urban intellect. As he travels he describes the people. There are blond and blue eyed people, dark haired dark eyed people. Most are friendly some not so friendly. He describes the dogs and kicks a couple of them. He describes some locals he refers to an beggars or idiots. The area is rocky, dry, famous for honey and seems to be mostly poor. It was written in 1948 which would be after the war. I can't say it was in anyway a favorite for me as I've read better travel literature but I am happy to have read it. Show Less
LibraryThing member Dreesie
This short novel is a travelogue/memoir of a walking trip through the Alcarria region of Spain in the 1940s. It is interesting, but knowing little of the area or really of Spain in general, I couldn't really relate to it. The parts I found most interesting revolved around old buildings and current
It did remind me of the tiny town in Italy my great-grandparents came from--the cemetery, church, old houses restored or rundown, old abandoned mill, etc. I would absolutley love to read something like this from there.
If you like/know rural Spain you might find this very interesting.
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uses, and food. And the walking--I would love to take a trip like this, though Cela picked an area without many walkers. People were often trying to guess what he was doing there (traveling salesman?).It did remind me of the tiny town in Italy my great-grandparents came from--the cemetery, church, old houses restored or rundown, old abandoned mill, etc. I would absolutley love to read something like this from there.
If you like/know rural Spain you might find this very interesting.
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LibraryThing member thornton37814
The author, who won a Pulitzer later in life, recounts his travels in Spain's Alcarria region. He enjoyed talking to locals or doing things based on opportunity. The tale seemed to be as erratic as his planning for the journey had been. The narrative ended somewhat abruptly although some hints of
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its near completion appeared in the concluding chapter. The author consistently refers to himself in the third person as "the traveler." The construction seems odd to us now. While more modern forms of transportation existed--and the author did take a bus at one point--the locals mostly seemed to get around by animal-driven carts. I wonder what a modern traveler to the region would find. Perhaps the style appeals more to his original Spanish audience, but it lost its appeal through time or translation. Interesting tidbits of local color make it still worth reading, but one must slog through less interesting pieces to get to these gems. Show Less
LibraryThing member igorversteeg
This is a great book to read when feeling absolutely drained.
Language
Original language
Spanish
Original publication date
1948 (original Spanish)
1964 (English)
Physical description
296 p.; 19 inches
ISBN
9788423342372