From the winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize for Literature, this is a re-issue of his second novel which depicts society in everyday scenes. From cafe to brothel, to the streets themselves it is a picture of Madrid and its inhabitants. The author's previous novels include "The Family of Pascal Duarte".
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Cela's novel depicts the hardship borne by the lower-middle class following the Spanish Civil War. Told through a series of interlinked vignettes, the story involves nearly 100 characters. For its blunt portrayal of life under a dictatorship, this 1953 book was banned during the Franco regime.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.
Review
"A lover of crude realism. . . Cela is reminiscent of Celine in Journey to the End of the Night." -- New York Herald Tribune<br /><br />"Concerned with Madrid as a whole . . . an attack on Franco Spain and its poverty without one political word." -- Library Journal<br /><br />"His best work . . . a carnivalesque reconstruction of the Spanish tradition, a nightmarish, surrealistic depiction of human endeavor." -- Julio Ortega<br /><br />"One of the most gifted and powerfu writers in contemporary Europe." -- Robert Boyle, Commonweal<br /><br />"The Hive is rather abruptly and sketchily represented, it is forceful and it is bald." --Saul Bellow, New York Times
--This text refers to the
Library Binding
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A day in the life of Franco's Spain.,
By
This review is from: The Hive (Library Binding)
"The Hive" is the story of a coffee shop in Spain, frequented by a wide assortment of every-day Spanish citizens. It is an interesting narrative of colorful characters. There are a few tense moments when one realizes the fact that this is the Spain of Franco's rule, and a character runs afoul of the authorities once or twice, but by and large, this is a normal novel with an interesting story to tell. It is enjoyable to read and nice to follow the various characters, but Cela will remind the astute reader in a very subtle fashion, but an unequivocal one, that this is Franco's Spain, an isolated universe of political peril, giving this novel a second tier, a dark cloud which overhangs the proceedings. Readers who enjoy the multivarious tales of small town inhabitants and their common taverns, or readers who enjoy stories of early twentieth-century Spain will enjoy this story particularly.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The fellowship of the cafe,
By
This review is from: The Hive (Library Binding)
In "The Hive", a most appropriate title, Cela recreates the everyday life of Madrid in the 1940's, centered around a small cafe and the life of its employees and clients. This place is the real protagonist of the novel, as we are witnesses to the small tragedies, triumphs, fights and passions of the people who live around it. It is verily a hive, an endless show of life with all its grandiosity, sordidness, pettiness and small acts of love and redemption. For those who know the modern-day Madrid, a cosmopolitan, prosperous place, it should be reminded that this book portrays the city right after the bitter Spanish Civil War, during the first days of Franco's dictatorship. Under Franco, Spain was a poor, provincial, backwards place where the most primitve form of Roman Catholicism was the religion of state, where the Catholic Church reigned supreme and where political repression was everywhere. Life wasn't easy in Spain in those days, and though this is not by any means a political novel, it is useful to remember this as we look at the lives of the many characters in this moving and excellent story.
7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Hive (Library Binding)
A masterpiece -- and a superb translation.
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Seņor Suárez, Seņor Ramķn, doņa jesusa, Doņa Asunciķn, Doņa María, forty pesetas, fifteen pesetas, ten pesetas, cigarette boy, five pesetas, thousand pesetas Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Doņa Rosa, Seņorita Elvira, Don Roberto, Doņa Visi, Don Ibrahim, Don Roque, Don Pablo, Doņa Celia, Martin Marco, Don Leonardo, Don Francisco, Doņa Ramona, Don Leoncio Maestre, Doņa Matilde, Don Ricardo Sorbedo, Julio Garcia Morrazo, Don Obdulio, Celestino Ortiz, Doņa Montserrat, Don Mario, Doņa Margot, Doņa Pura, Don Jaime Arce, Pepe the Chip, Doņa Juana New!
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Seņor Suárez, Seņor Ramķn, doņa jesusa, Doņa Asunciķn, Doņa María, forty pesetas, fifteen pesetas, ten pesetas, cigarette boy, five pesetas, thousand pesetas Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Doņa Rosa, Seņorita Elvira, Don Roberto, Doņa Visi, Don Ibrahim, Don Roque, Don Pablo, Doņa Celia, Martin Marco, Don Leonardo, Don Francisco, Doņa Ramona, Don Leoncio Maestre, Doņa Matilde, Don Ricardo Sorbedo, Julio Garcia Morrazo, Don Obdulio, Celestino Ortiz, Doņa Montserrat, Don Mario, Doņa Margot, Doņa Pura, Don Jaime Arce, Pepe the Chip, Doņa Juana New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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