A novel by Camilo José Cela that started the so-called literary ‘tremendismo’ or stark reality.
Published in the Franco period in 1942, with this work Camilo José Cela started so-called ‘tremendismo’. This literary genre, which continued the Spanish reality tradition, connecting with naturalism and the social novel, was one of the most developed traditions in post-war Spain.
The Family of Pascual Duarte is set in rural Extremadura before and after the Civil War. The main character, Pascual Duarte, recounts his life crudely where violence is seen as the only response to existential emptiness. An innovative work in all senses, the author uses several narrators, in addition to Pascual Duarte himself, to offer a full realist vision of the events retold.
