Nada in Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Jul 27, 2014 M rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, library, read-in-2014

Nada is hard to review, especially given how slim it is.

I have wanted to read this novel for quite some time - it is a Spanish classic written and set in the aftermath of Civil War, a period of history I don't know much about, too recent to be objectively taught at Spanish schools. After all, people from the previous generation lived a good chunk of their lives under a dictatorship, and the country still bears some wounds from the War.

Nada is a good window to the past. While Civil War is not at Nada is hard to review, especially given how slim it is.

I have wanted to read this novel for quite some time - it is a Spanish classic written and set in the aftermath of Civil War, a period of history I don't know much about, too recent to be objectively taught at Spanish schools. After all, people from the previous generation lived a good chunk of their lives under a dictatorship, and the country still bears some wounds from the War.

Nada is a good window to the past. While Civil War is not at the focus of this story, it looms over the characters like a storm. Andrea, newly arrived in Barcelona from the country, is a war orphan. Her relatives are all marked by the war, one way or the other. Her stay at the family apartment on Aribau is marked by all kind of shortages, contributing to the dense and asphixiating atmosphere that permeates the novel. Hunger takes on a predominantly role in Andrea's life, informing her life choices and sparking the conflicts with her family. Andrea debilitates day after day of that first year in Barcelona. She doesn't exactly mature, but wilts in that claustrophobic ambiance. She feels it is impossible to extricate herself from that thick tangle of miseries, and so the wide-eyed innocent girl thirsty for knowledge and life experiences gives way to a wiry young woman who ruminates over every thought and every feeling. The novel goes inward, instead of forward, yet it never fails being intriguing.

Family secrets are as abundant as food is lacking. Andrea is determined to avoid them at all costs, until her friend Ena casually meets Andrea's uncle, Roman, a former violinist prodigy with a history of violence. Ena comes from a different social class - she is wealthy and bright. She is the only ray of light in Andrea's life. Understandably, Andrea wants to save Ena from the curse that is her family. She is desperate to keep Ena unsullied, yet Ena can't help to feel fascinated by Roman. The tension between the three was electric, and it kept me glued to the pages. The rest of the characters are powerful expressions of the different forms of desolation and shame that were ever present in Spanish postwar landscape - her self-righteous aunt Angustias, her suffering grandmother, the crumbling marriage of Juan and Gloria, the petty maid Antonia, and Andrea's circle of friends composed of rich boho artists wannabes who hypocritically laud poverty. All of them unforgettable, all of them sad.

Laforet dissected every aspect of this alienated family, writing one of the best existentialist novels I've ever read. She is able to fully immerse in the story and carry the reader with her. I really felt oppressed while reading Nada. When I finished the book, it was like gulping for fresh air after being underwater for too long. And that is what I liked best about it. ...more

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Feb 18, 2007 Francisco rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novela, españoles, arte

Novela clave en la literatura española de posguerra, retrata mucho mejor que otras publicadas con mucha posterioridad el ambiente opresivo de una sociedad de supervivientes.
Edición ilustrada por Albert Rafols Casamada.

4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 06, 2009 Deodand rated it it was ok

Shelves: unfinished, fiction, europe

I just couldn't get into this one. I think I'm missing the necessary context to understand the plot, as there is quite a lot left unsaid that a more experienced writer would have blended into the story. I find the characters are quite homogeneous and the protagonist is transparent. So I'm setting it aside. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

May 26, 2019 Jen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: to-read-2019

This book is hard to describe but it invokes strong feeling and sympathy. It’s a coming of age story but also incredibly dark and you can feel the oppressiveness of Andrea’s life as you read the story. I wonder if it is supposed to align with what Spain itself was experiencing at that time. Excited for a new start after the war and yet incredibly beaten down.

1 like · Like · see review