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Camilo José Cela (1916–2002)

Author of The Hive

247+ Works 6,265 Members 166 Reviews 5 Favorited

About the Author

Camilo José Cela was born on May 11, 1916 in Iria Flavia, Spain. He attended the University of Madrid before and after the Spanish Civil War, during which he served with Franco's army. His first novel, La Familia de Pascual Duarte (The Family of Pascual Duarte), was published in 1942. He primarily show more wrote novels, short narratives, and travel diaries. His works include Journey to the Alcarria, The Hive, and Mrs. Caldwell Speaks to Her Son. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1989. He died on January 17, 2002. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:

(yid) VIAF:14767431

Series

Works by Camilo José Cela

The Hive (1951) 1,570 copies
The Family of Pascual Duarte (1942) 1,478 copies
Mazurka for Two Dead Men (1983) 468 copies
La cruz de San Andrés (1994) 126 copies
Boxwood (1999) 110 copies
Christ versus Arizona (1988) 107 copies
Pabellón de reposo (1944) 98 copies
Nuevo viaje a la Alcarria (1987) 75 copies
Oficio de tinieblas 5 (1973) 64 copies
El gallego y su cuadrilla (1949) 47 copies
Rol de cornudos (1901) 37 copies
De windmolen (1956) 36 copies
Viaje al Pirineo de Lérida (1965) 35 copies
La catira (1901) 33 copies
Een elftal voetbalverhalen (1963) 30 copies
El asesinato del perdedor (1994) 29 copies
Del Miño al Bidasoa (1974) 27 copies
Garito de hospicianos (1901) 25 copies
Diccionario secreto (1975) 22 copies
La rosa (1980) 20 copies
Barcelona (1970) 19 copies
Tobogán de hambrientos (1987) 15 copies
Nuevas escenas matritenses (1965) 14 copies
Primer Viaje Andaluz (1961) 13 copies
Diccionario secreto, 2 (1989) 12 copies
Viaje a U.S.A. (1987) 12 copies
Obra completa (1978) 9 copies
Cajón de sastre (1901) 9 copies
A la pata de palo (1987) 8 copies
Esas nubes que pasan (1976) 8 copies
El espejo y otros cuentos (1981) 7 copies
Historias familiares (1998) 7 copies
El asno de Buridán (1901) 6 copies
AVILA (1955) 6 copies
Desde el palomar de Hita (1991) 6 copies
CELA: OBRAS COMPLETAS 3 (1989) 6 copies
Cuaderno del Guadarrama (1983) 5 copies
Ari Kovani (2016) 5 copies
Madrid (1967) 4 copies
Vuelta de hoja (1981) 4 copies
Café de artistas (1953) 4 copies
A vueltas con España (1973) 3 copies
Camilo José Cela,1989 (1992) 3 copies
El color de la mañana (1996) 3 copies
A bote pronto (1994) 2 copies
El camaleón soltero (1992) 2 copies
El solitario 2 copies
Obras completas. Tomo 37 (1990) 2 copies
Memorias (2021) 1 copy
Madrid ; Barcelona (2017) 1 copy
Maria Sabina (2005) 1 copy
La colmena 1 copy
Alfabeto fantástico (1994) 1 copy
Paginas escogidas (1991) 1 copy
La romeria 1 copy
Mallorca (1985) 1 copy
Mehiläispesä (1989) 1 copy

Associated Works

Spanish Stories = Cuentos Españoles (1960) — Contributor — 386 copies
Great Spanish Stories (1956) — Contributor — 42 copies
Los mejores relatos españoles del siglo XX : antología (1998) — Contributor — 17 copies
New World Writing: Fourth Mentor Selection (1953) — Contributor — 12 copies
La colmena 9 copies
Meesters der Spaanse vertelkunst (1952) — Author — 7 copies
Even op verhaal komen — Contributor — 1 copy

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

Reason read: 1001 botm August 2023, TIOLI #10
translated by J. M. Cohen
This book is a work of literature by Camilo Jose Cela, written in 1950. It is an experimental novel but readable. It is also a realistic novel. It is set in Madrid, 1943 following the civil war and deals with poverty and unhappiness. There are over 300 characters and they're lives are connected in various ways. It consists of six chapters and an epilogue and many short episodes that focuses on particular characters.The title The Hive is a description how all these individuals work together to achieve something more than the individual. The time period covers three days in 1943. The newspapers tell us the date and what is occurring in the world (The Tehran conference of world leaders; Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin. The story though broken up into these fragments is also not told in chronological order. There is a plot, but it is not a big part of this story and the ending is vague. The sense of dread builds through the chapters. The kicking out of the penniless man out of Rosa's cafe, the death of the lady in Chapter 2, the various characters with their pains and loneliness and then the conclusion and what is to be done?
Characters: are sketched out, some more than others. Female characters often have become prostitutes to help their families. Some are widows with pensions, some like Rosa have their business. Some have even said the Madrid is the main character with all these various characters giving definition to Madrid. This is an interesting idea and fits well as we are given many street addresses throughout the town.
"is a powerful piece of documentary realism portraying the poverty, moral degradation, and hypocrisy of the society of the time. All social layers are present, from the well-to-do man looking for forbidden pleasures to the beggar desperately searching for a place to spend the night." https://literariness.org/2022/10/12/analysis-of-camilo-jose-celas-the-hive/.

Some lines that I liked;
pg 55 "the aim of wars to reduce the number of people who can their necessary jobs in comfort."
pg 82. "I won't hear of a Labor contract."
pg 171 "one cannot smoke a scented, delightful cigarette."
"resort of old people who come there to feed on sunshine like lizards" (Isn't that a great line). His prose is often very beautiful to read. It is notable to have little or no plot and there are events with really no resolutions; a death of a woman, a suicide, and why is Marco being sought by who? But as real life, how often do we really know the truths about those who live their lives around us?
… (more)
 
Flagged
Kristelh | 42 other reviews | Aug 4, 2023 |
Hermoso libro. Lastima que el último capítulo no estuviera al nivel del resto.
De haberlo estado, le hubiese dado cinco estrellas
 
Flagged
gomezborbon | 17 other reviews | Jul 27, 2022 |
While i was intrigued by the cover, after 14 pages i was so confused with all the people that i gave up.
½
 
Flagged
kakadoo202 | 12 other reviews | Aug 19, 2021 |
ne hanno fatto un film che le era piaciuto
 
Flagged
perseveranza | 42 other reviews | Mar 24, 2021 |

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Associated Authors

Joan Colom Illustrator
Alfonso Canales Joint Author
G.J. Geers Translator
Carlos Pujol Introduction
Anthony Kerrigan Introduction, Translator
J.G. Rijkmans Translator
J. M. Cohen Translator
Arturo Barea Introduction
Todor Neykov Translator
Raúl Römer Translator
Hans Romberg Cover designer
Jean Viet Translator
Ton Ceelen Translator

Statistics

Works
247
Also by
8
Members
6,265
Popularity
#3,914
Rating
½ 3.6
Reviews
166
ISBNs
580
Languages
19
Favorited
5

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