Ana María Matute passed away today in Barcelona at the age of 88. She was one of the finest writers in Spanish literature, leaving us a legacy of great novels. It wouldn't hurt to read them all, as each one would bring joy, but out of affection and remembrance, we have selected the five novels that, in our opinion, are essential reading by this brilliant author.
Before we begin with these five novels, we want to apologize to you, to Ana María Matute, and to everyone in general for only including five here, as all of her novels should be represented. We also apologize in advance to anyone who might be offended by the inclusion of one novel and the omission of another.
Small theater
Everything should start at the beginning, and so if we want to immerse ourselves in the literature of Ana María Matute, perhaps we should start by reading her first novel, entitled "Pequeño Teatro," which she wrote when she was only 17 years old, although it was not published until she was 25.
In this novel he narrates the helplessness, loneliness, hatred, ambition and cruelty of human beings.
Despite being only 17 years old when he wrote this novel, it earned him the prestigious Planeta Prize in 1954.
Forgotten King Gudú
This novel is almost certainly the best known to the general public of all those written by Ana María Matute, but the writer also always confessed that it was her favorite.
If we had to summarize this novel in a few words, we could say that it combines medieval and fantasy elements, with fairies and knights , all mixed together to become a perfect treatise on human emotions.
On this earth / Fireflies
This is undoubtedly another of Ana María Matute's best-known novels , in which she tells the stories of children who have been deprived of almost everything by the Civil War, and of course, deprived of their childhood.
In 1949 it was banned by the censorship and shortly afterwards it arrived in the bookstores reviewed and under the title of "In this land". In 1993 he recovered the original version and published it with its original title, which was "Fireflies"
First memory
“First Memory” was written and published immediately after “The Dead Children,” once again using the Civil War as a backdrop and featuring two children, Matia and her cousin Borja, as protagonists. It is the first novel in the “The Merchants” trilogy , continued with “Soldiers Cry at Night” and “The Trap . ”
This novel earned him the Nadal Prize in 1959 and good reviews from almost everyone.
The door of the moon
The last of the books we are suggesting by Ana María Matute is not a novel but a compilation of all her stories, accompanied by short writings and newspaper articles that have something to do with the little ones, which was published in 2010.
Without a doubt it is a compilation that we should all have, read and enjoy until the last page of it.
What is your favorite book by Ana María Matute, or the one you would recommend to any friend?