City of Marvels (1986)

I have a feeling that Mendoza is better known in Europe than in North America. I have already read four of his books, none of which has been published here I don’t think. The three were on a lighter side with an insane barber turned detective as the main protagonist- sort of Being There by Kosinski but on a very light side.
Even though all of them are set in Barcelona, this one, The City of Marvels, is about Barcelona itself. Yes, it does have a plot that kept me reading even though my interest petered out by the end, but the main focus is on historical Barcelona. The times that are of special interest to the author are of and between the two International Expositions which took place there in 1888 and 1929 respectively. The main character, Onofre, is a peasant who comes to the big city with a plan to get rich and through his intelligence and cunning, crime and lack of scruples in time becomes one of the richest men in Barcelona and Spain. Were I not acquainted with Mendoza, I would probably not know what to make of this main character. He is definitely not a likeable person and for us to like him is not the point. The point Mendoza is making is that this was the way people got rich in Barcelona during that time and this was the way Barcelona acquired its bourgeoisie. That may not be entirely true either, since the whole thing is a satire and I feel that we are to read it as such. All in all it’s the story of the city Mendoza is dying to tell here; Onofre is only an excuse. ( )

Barcelona in progress between the universal exhibitions of 1888 and 1929, becoming one of the most European cities. The protagonist, Onofre Bouvila, is an example, that behind a successful man there is a strong woman. In this novel even three.

Mendoza's take on the Spanish picaresque tradition is the story of a peasant lad, Onofre Bouvila, who emigrates to the thriving new metropolis of Barcelona at the end of the XIX century. Neatly set between two World Exhibitions, it tells a wonderful rags to riches story: fortune is achieved, obviously, through petty crime, thuggery, urban speculation (a must) and other semi criminal activities; but also through a great deal of self belief and vision. The familiar story of social ascent is used to present a comic vision of the myths of Barcelona's economic and cultural development. In my opinion,Mendoza is the best comic prose writer in Spanish at the moment, and the best moments of the book are his departures from realism into pure comic fancy.A delightful book. ( )