Yet that’s nothing compared to what he discovers going on inside Don Pedro’s home. Along with Galdos and Clarín she was one of the three most important writers of late 19th century Spain. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. pp.20/1 (Penguin Pocket Classics, 2016). The writer is quick to point out his delicate, almost feminine nature: He belonged to the vanguard of the excessively prudish, along with those whose sense of virtue is easily shocked, who have the scruples of a nun and the modesty of an untouched maiden. There, much to the astonishment of the others, he selects Manuel’s youngest daughter, Nucha, to be his wife and new mistress of the estate; a woman whom Julián deems an ‘ideal model of a biblical wife’. Penguin, 275 pages, $8.95 paper The House of Ulloa. Not qualified to say if it was the translation or the original style that made this book such a pleasure to read. (p.113).
The House of Ulloa (Spanish: Los pazos de Ulloa) is a novel by Emilia Pardo Bazán, published in Spanish in 1886, and in English by Penguin Classics in 1990. I realised that of the ten works, I had only read one, so I resolved to read the other nine this year.
He strongly feels that the state of the house is the consequence of the moral decay of its owner who is a good for nothing, solely interested in hunting activities and who had a bastard son with the maid of the house.
The novel itself is a profound feminist statement; not only is Bazán’s occupation as an author of such progressive content, but the unfavourable portrayal of the male characters was purposely orchestrated to not only demonstrate the inherent misogynistic values held by patriarchal society, but critique them.
Despite his failings, Julián must step up and protect his new mistress, and the house he serves.
( Log Out / However, while there’s plenty of room for visitors, it’s not exactly equipped with all mod-cons, and if you’re expecting a warm welcome, you might be disappointed – people in these parts aren’t fond of intruders from the city…. The House of Ulloa, published in 1886, remains the most famous of Bazan’s eighteen novels (in fact, though widely available in Spanish, little of her work is easily accessible in English). The novel progresses a little slowly at times, but you always feel as if it’s heading in the right direction, and it culminates in the disaster and bloodshed you’ve been supecting, even if there are a few surprises in store.
Change ). The writer has an eye for the absurd and delights in savage sketches of fat, dull country folk, crude banquets attended by gluttonous priests and landowners, and the enormous country dwellings about to crumble into dust after decades, centuries even, of neglect. A few months ago I read an article in the Guardian Review about the Penguin Classics series. Format: Paperback; 290 pages
The plot and the characters are immersive and compelling, and I was borne along so happily by the absorbing torrent of the narrative that I read the whole book in a single day, and almost in a single sitting. Julián, both appalled at such debauchary and driven by religious naivety, seeks to direct Don Pedro back onto the path of righteous, a path Don Pedro is reluctant to follow due to his worry that Primitivo, both his steward and father of Sabel, would prevent such matters and politically ostracise him. There’s a distinct V-Lit feel to the novel, even if it’s not quite as long as that would suggest, but rather than being told by an omniscient narrator, the story tends to focus on Julián (a relatively minor character), meaning the reader is often (deliberately) left in the dark. Priests, feudal aristocrats, bastards, the deep countryside, nineteenth century Spanish politics: these are all some of my favourite themes. Just who is Tony, and what exactly is his Reading List? He is eventually persuaded by Julián to travel to Santiago to meet with his Cousin Manuel. She also wrote the first review of Darwin's _Origin of the Species_ to appear in print in Spain. The other seminarists had called him St Julián, claiming that all he needed to complete the picture of the saint was a little dove perched on his hand. This is the second of those nine that I’ve read.
Her sociological examination of the characters, in particular, the sharp portraits of the local clergy, peasants and politicians brutally delineates the conflict between social classes, sexes, the spiritual and corporeal, and the city and countryside in nineteenth century Spain.
I adored this. It’s always good to find new classics by women in translation, and The House of Ulloa is definitely one I’d recommend, an entertaining novel where the reader senses early on that there’s unlikely to be a happy ending: Julián did not foresee any immediate danger, but he had a sense of impending doom – brought about by that loathsome, illegitimate family, who seemed rooted to the ramshackle manor house like the ivy growing up its crumbling walls!
There's a problem loading this menu right now. ( Log Out / Sabel has a young son called Perucho, and while it takes Julián a while to catch on, eventually he notices that the boy has very familiar features. The reader’s entry into the world of Emilia Pardo Bazán’s The House of Ulloa (translated by Paul O’Prey and Lucia Graves) coincides with Julián Álvarez, a young priest from the city of Santiago de Compostela, arriving in the Galician countryside.
While this novel is not wholly gothic, it is embedded such features that it feels like a familiar genre. Disabling it will result in some disabled or missing features. Anyone wishing to use all or part of one of my posts should seek permission before doing so. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Learn how your comment data is processed. First half is witty and unsubtly funny in equal measure, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 4, 2014. ( Log Out /
Fascinating and entertaining story about an important period in Spanish history, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 19, 2019. Yet he realises that he has a responsibility towards Don Pedro and is the only one who can offer support, particularly when Don Pedro marries one of Julián’s old city acquaintances, Nucha, a woman every bit as out of place in Ulloa as the chaplain himself. Surprisingly relevant considering how long ago it was written.
A good read. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account.
( Log Out / _The House of Ulloa_ is the work of fiction for which she is best known, and is also the work which perhaps best illustrates Pardo Bazán's own peculiar and unorthodox conception of Naturalism. Emilia Pardo Bazán stands as perhaps the Spanish speaking world's greatest woman novelist. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Having never let go of his mother’s apron-strings except for his classes at the seminary, all Julián knew about life was what could be learned from religious books.
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Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. Entertaining historical novel with very good descriptions of characters and places. It’s not just here that Primitivo has power over his master, though. At its core, Pardo Bazán’s novel is a story of power,and who wields it. Yet The House of Ulloa is also a comic novel in places. Highly recommended for anyone who seeks a wee escape from the humdrum of daily life.
Don Pedro is at the mercy of his supposed underling, and this will have grave consequences later on. Follow Tony's Reading List on WordPress.com, Edinburgh International Book Festival 2020, The Warwick Prize for Women in Translation. Upon arrival not only does he find the library in a state of great disarray, but discovers scenes of moral decadence, cruelty and corruption.
Set in a turbulent bygone era the whole story was captivating from beginning to end. One of Julián’s tasks is to attempt to unravel the secrets of the Ulloa finances, but he soon realises that it’s a futile task far beyond his limited capabilities. Very well described and with some feminist observations a hundred years before the word existed. Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 1998. A classic of Spanish literature, The House of Ulloa was first published in 1886, but it drags the reader further back in time than that, and it feels even older (it seems as if the countryside is situated in an earlier century).
Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. ***** He certainly stands out in this harsh environment, surrounded by hunting, hard-drinking men (and that’s just the priests) and is repelled by the bawdy country manners.
Today’s choice is a classic novel, and once again the house of the title is at the heart of the story. He has been sent by a nobelman to be the new chaplain for his nephew, the magnificently named Don Pedro Moscoso de Cabreira y Pardo de la Lage, and while the larger-than-life Don Pedro sees little need for more spiritual guidance given the proliferation of priests and abbots in the region, he’s more than happy to welcome the newcomer into his home. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 4, 2020, Beautifully written.
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