Customer Reviews

Abel Sanchez and Other Stories

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I read the Spanish version of this story a year ago and loved it. Unamuno probes the psychology of envy, which he describes as "the national disease of Spain", showing the self-hatred involved. This is a story of Cain and Abel told with loving understanding for Cain.

These three stories, in addition to being a great read, really moved me. Yet I can't fully pin point why I enjoyed this collection so much. Maybe it was Miguel de Unamuno's unique background as a Christian existentialist writing in the early twentieth century. Maybe it was the influence of cubism on his approach to these three stories. Perhaps it was just the stories themselves; I really grew attached to these characters and the subject matter. Abel Sanchez and The Madness of Doctor Mantarco are great reflections on art (and these stories are adequately discussed in other reviews) but my personal favorite was San Manuel Bueno, Martyr. The story about a well respected priest who no longer believes in God sounds cliche, Miguel de Unamuno writes it in a way that is heartbreakingly tragic. Because the story moved me on a decidedly personal level, it's hard for me to recommend this book with certainty: how am I to know whether it's true art, or whether it's a novel I happened to just particularly like? Still, I can speak for myself: Abel Sanchez and Other Stories is an impeccable piece of literature.

..and other themes are treated in this volume. Abel Sanchez, the title narrative, is an incredible reterlling of the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. Unamuno is able to interweave christian faith and spanish culturalism in order to create a morally compelling story. This collection has had a profound influence on me. I highly recommend it if you are interested in Christianity, Spanish literature, or even good literature.

Unamuno is not the paradigm of philosophical fiction...but he's damn good. The three stories contained have the wealth of information usually associated with Borges. OK, OK, maybe not that prodigious, but excellent, nonetheless. Included in this volume is San Manuel Bueno, Matyr which evokes...well, there is alot of magic to the story, which is hard to transmit. Unamuno is sort of...the Spanish Hawthorne.