The Hive

Rating:
Summary: A day in the life of Franco's Spain.
Review: "The Hive" is the story of a coffee shop in Spain, frequented by a wide assortment of every-day Spanish citizens. It is an interesting narrative of colorful characters. There are a few tense moments when one realizes the fact that this is the Spain of Franco's rule, and a character runs afoul of the authorities once or twice, but by and large, this is a normal novel with an interesting story to tell. It is enjoyable to read and nice to follow the various characters, but Cela will remind the astute reader in a very subtle fashion, but an unequivocal one, that this is Franco's Spain, an isolated universe of political peril, giving this novel a second tier, a dark cloud which overhangs the proceedings. Readers who enjoy the multivarious tales of small town inhabitants and their common taverns, or readers who enjoy stories of early twentieth-century Spain will enjoy this story particularly.

Rating:
Summary: obra maestra de un maestro
Review: "La Colmena" pasar? a la historia como la obra hispana contempor?nea m?s estudiada en las Universidades Americanas. Entre los diversos estudios destaca una tesis doctoral de la Universidad de California firmada por una tal "Loreena M." que intenta analizar el n?mero de personajes que intervienen en la novela llegando a la conclusi?n de que son 232 aunque plantea la duda sobre un personaje llamado "Manolo" que aparece en dos ocasiones y que la autora de la tesis no puede asociar. Esta an?cdota demuestra el inter?s suscitado por esta obra publicada a mediados de la d?cada de los 50 y que sirve de puente entre el realismo de Posguerra y las nuevas tendencias de los a?os 60. La t?cnica narrativa, denominada por los cr?ticos como calidoscopio, se basa en una estructura coral de los personajes que describen un entorno concreto, el Madrid de la posguerra, haciendo un exhaustivo repaso a la sociedad de la ?poca con sus grandezas y miserias en un periodo temporal muy determinado: cinco d?as.
Como antesala de esta obra hay que mencionar "Caf? de Artistas", un relato que Cela escribi? a finales de los a?os cuarenta aunque se p?blico bastante despu?s que "La Colmena". En definitiva una obra compleja que invita a ser rele?da una y otra vez descubriendo a cada pagina un nuevo matiz con el que completar ese espectro narrativo que surge de la descomposici?n de la realidad, cuando pasa a trav?s de un prisma ?ptico llamado Camilo Jos? Cela.

Rating:
Summary: The fellowship of the cafe
Review: In "The Hive", a most appropriate title, Cela recreates the everyday life of Madrid in the 1940's, centered around a small cafe and the life of its employees and clients. This place is the real protagonist of the novel, as we are witnesses to the small tragedies, triumphs, fights and passions of the people who live around it. It is verily a hive, an endless show of life with all its grandiosity, sordidness, pettiness and small acts of love and redemption. For those who know the modern-day Madrid, a cosmopolitan, prosperous place, it should be reminded that this book portrays the city right after the bitter Spanish Civil War, during the first days of Franco's dictatorship. Under Franco, Spain was a poor, provincial, backwards place where the most primitve form of Roman Catholicism was the religion of state, where the Catholic Church reigned supreme and where political repression was everywhere. Life wasn't easy in Spain in those days, and though this is not by any means a political novel, it is useful to remember this as we look at the lives of the many characters in this moving and excellent story.

Rating:
Summary: The fellowship of the cafe
Review: In "The Hive", a most appropriate title, Cela recreates the everyday life of Madrid in the 1940's, centered around a small cafe and the life of its employees and clients. This place is the real protagonist of the novel, as we are witnesses to the small tragedies, triumphs, fights and passions of the people who live around it. It is verily a hive, an endless show of life with all its grandiosity, sordidness, pettiness and small acts of love and redemption. For those who know the modern-day Madrid, a cosmopolitan, prosperous place, it should be reminded that this book portrays the city right after the bitter Spanish Civil War, during the first days of Franco's dictatorship. Under Franco, Spain was a poor, provincial, backwards place where the most primitve form of Roman Catholicism was the religion of state, where the Catholic Church reigned supreme and where political repression was everywhere. Life wasn't easy in Spain in those days, and though this is not by any means a political novel, it is useful to remember this as we look at the lives of the many characters in this moving and excellent story.

Rating:
Summary: A canvas and people's lives
Review: It's a very refreshing book. Particularly how it's composed and how the stories develop. There is something about the artist's technique that will make you remember this book. Imagine yourself thousands of feet above the ground from where you can view the neighbourhoods of a big city. All at once. And you observe people in space and time creating a beautiful pattern of life and its richness. This could be any city anywhere in any age (though we know its Spain) because this pattern of human life is very central to our existence. Each paragraph is an incident that relates to other paragraphs in a very sketchy way and picks up its thread somewhere else when you least expect it. Also be prepared for a multi-dimensional story with one very important dimension missing - time and I think on purpose. Because it's a snapshot, it does not aspire to be a video, there in lies its beauty. Take a blank canvas and put threads of various colors in a random design and then step back. You may not remember the threads but you will not forget the impression.