Camilo José Cela

From Freepedia

Camilo José Cela Trulock (May 11 1916 – January 17 2002) was a Spanish writer. He was born in Iria Flavia, district of Padron, province of A Coruña.

Cela published his first novel, "La familia de Pascual Duarte" (The family of Pascual Duarte), when he was 26. This novel is similar to much other work featuring the existential, morally ambiguous protagonist. Pascual Duarte has trouble finding validity in conventional morality, and commits a number of crimes, including murders for which he feels nothing. He is in this sense like Mersault in Albert Camus' famous novel The Stranger. His best known work, "La colmena" (The Hive) was published in 1953. Cela's style is a type of dark realism. He published about 70 volumes. As a travel writer he wrote in 1948 "Viaje a la Alcarria" (Journey to the Alcarria) among others.

In 1957 he was appointed member of the Real Academia Española. He died in Madrid in 2002.

Prizes

• Prince of Asturias Award in Literature, 1987
• Nobel Prize in Literature, 1989
• Cervantes Prize, 1995

Principal works

• La familia de Pascual Duarte (The family of Pascal Duarte) (1942)
• Pabellón de reposo (1943)
• Nuevas andanzas y desventuras de Lazarillo de Tormes (1944)
• Viaje a la Alcarria (Journey to the Alcarria) (1948)
• La colmena (The Hive) (1953)
• Mrs. Caldwell habla con su hijo (Mrs. Caldwell speaks to her son) (1952)
• La catira (1955)
• Tobogán de hambrientos (1962)
• Izas, rabizas y colipoterras (1964)
• Diccionario secreto (I, 1968; II, 1971)
• San Camilo I936 (1969)
• Oficio de tinieblas 5 (1973)
• Mazurca para dos muertos (Mazurka for two dead men) (1983)
• Nuevo viaje a la Alcarria (1986)
• Cristo versus Arizona (1988).

External links

BBC obituary