La boda de Chon Recalde

by Gonzalo Torrente Ballester

Las hermanas Recalde, hijas de un capitán de navío fusilado por enfrentarse al General Franco, regresan al pueblo natal, Villarreal de la Mar, y allí tratarán de adaptarse a la vida provinciana de posguerra. En Villarreal es más importante ser nieta de dos almirantes que hija de un fusilado, y eso las libra del estigma. Pero hay cosas que no se perdonan, entre ellas no aceptar ?o no buscar? de entre los marinos de la villa un buen partido para casarse.

216 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1995

About the author

Although primarily a novelist, he also published journalism, essays, and plays. His career as a writer began in Oviedo, but developed largely in Madrid.

After moving around frequently in the later 1920s and early 1930s, including a period in Paris, he returned to Spain and linked himself to Franco's Falange party in order to save his own life and that of his family. His first novel, Javier Mariño, appeared in 1943, and he continued to publish novels almost until his death, receiving major prizes for some of them.

Despite his affiliation to the Falangists, Torrente Ballester always promoted relatively leftist ideas, and from 1939, when he returned to Santiago to take up a university post, he increasingly distanced himself from the party. He joined in protests in favour of striking Asturian miners in 1962, and was expelled from his teaching post at the university as a result. In the mid-1960s he had a number of problems with government censors.

He left Spain for a post at the State University of New York at Albany in 1966, and remained there until 1970. After his return to Spain, he was increasingly celebrated: In 1975 he was elected member of the Real Academia Española, and was awarded the premier Spanish literary prize, the Cervantes Prize, in 1985.

Immediately after his death a foundation was set up to protect, study and disseminate his work. The name of this foundation is Fundación Gonzalo Torrente Ballester and counts among its supporters the Royal House of Spain.

Reviews

[Begona Fernandez]

No el mejor libro de Torrente pero interesante. Muestra muy bien el mundo de una ciudad pequeña justo despues de acabar la guerra y durante la Segunda guerra mundial que intenta seguir como siempre cuando en realidad mucho ha cambiado. Mucho excepto las envidias, la falsa moral y los privilegios de unos. Una ventana agradable a un tiempo pasado.

[Guille]

Correcto. Lo mejor es la descripción de la ciudad y la sociedad provinciana de la época.

[Zangolotinos Club de lectura]

Carmen 17/2/2022

[Javier Adan]

Una novela entretenida sobre todo para la gente que es de Ferrol.
Describe un poco cómo es la sociedad de esos momentos sus costumbres, sus manías sus miedos

[Susana]

lido em português: O Casamento de Chon Recalde

[Agostinho]

Normalmente daria 4 estrelas a este livro, mas devido ao tema , pressão sobre a vida das mulheres na Espanha franquista, semelhante há que existia em Portugal. Num momento em que existe a possibilidade de reversão da democracia, este livro relata a vida, de falta de liberdade que até o “ Amor e Amizade eram Condicionados pelo Medo e Falta de Liberdade e Acção”

[Rachel Std]

Una obra entretenida, que cuenta las envidias, la falsa moral, y la importancia del qué dirán en una población de provincias. Imagino que no sea la mejor obra del autor, pero me ha gustado por lo bien que refleja la vida de provincias en la época en la que está ambientada.

[Chris Ricks]

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