Camilo José Cela (1916–2002)

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)