DELIBES, MIGUEL (1930 - 2010)
The stuff of heroes


Pantheon Books, New York. 1990. Fisrt American Edition. Hardcover. Half cloth binding with light gray paper over boards backed with blue cloth, white stamped titles on spine. With not price-clipped dustjacket. 293 pp. 16,25 x 24 x 2,25 cm. 588 gr. Book design by Anne Scatto. Jacket illustration and design by Bascove. ISBN-10 0394577469. ISBN-13 9780394577469. Originally publishes in Spain as '377A, Madera de héroe'. Translated from the Spanish by Frances M. López-Morillas. Coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, with significant gay content.



In this most ambitious novel, Miguel Delibes, winner of the prestigious Nadal Prize in 1947 and one of Spain's greatests novelists, confronts head-on the single most important event in twentieth-century Spanish history. The result is a wonderfull readable coming-of-age-story set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War - a family sago that resonates far beyond the borders of Spain.

Told from the point of view of Gervasio, the youngest son of an old aristocratic family, The stuff of heroes explores the eccentricities of provincial Spanish life and the quirks - personal, sexual, and political - of the Garcia and De la Lastra clans. Like the country, Gervasio's own family is politically divided, with his father and eccentric uncles briefly rejoicing in a democratically elected government, only to be forced to seek protection from the pro-Franco family members as Spanish politics flip-flop back and forth.

With the same feel for a child's view of war as J.B. Ballard employed to such effect in Empire of the sun, Delibes uses the complexities of event in 1930s Spain to investigate, via Gervasio, concepts such as heroism, bravery, commitment, and loyalty. At the same time he draws a generous and skillfull portrait of a family life in a time of stress and change.


Bright, clean, square covers and spine. Tightly bound. Bright, crisp, clean interior. Dustjacket is bright, clean and complete. A sound book with clean pages and clear content. Name of former owner on front endpaper. As new.


BOOKNUMBER: 11819