During the Spanish Civil War, the River Jarama was the scene of a bloody, month-long battle which ended in a stalemate. There the Republicans suffered 25,000 casualties and the Nationalists 20,000. In this novel, set nearly twenty years later, the Jarama has become a favourite picnic spot for escaping the city heat.   The novel describes one hot day in August when various groups from Madrid--young and old, married and single--go to the river to swim, picnic and relax. During the day they talk, flirt, get drunk, argue and, mostly, make their peace.  Through seemingly innocuous conversations, the author achieves a captivating realism as he subtly introduces symbolist intimations of Civil War battles and the death that lies upon the land.  Social realism, written in 1955 under Franco's regime, The River subtly hints at the unresolved conflicts of the past, with tiny, specific details unfurling into vistas of grief and deprivation.

RIVER (Dedalus Europe 1992-2004)

Ferlosio, Rafael Sanchez

Arts & Photography

Dedalus Limited

<p>This is the first English translation of The Adventures of the Ingenious Alfanhui, a picaresque novel in which the hero, a magical little boy, goes in search not of his fortune but of knowledge, growing both wiser and possibly sadder in the process.\n'In his dedication, Ferlosio describes this exquisite fantasy novel, first published in 1952 and now beautifully translated into English as a 'story full of true lies.' Much honored in his native Spain, Ferlosio is a fabulist comparable to Jorge Borges and Italo Calvino, as well as Joan Miro and Salvador Dali. Cervantes comes to mind. Ferlosio's prose is effortlessly evocative. A chair puts down roots and sprouts 'a few green branches and some cherries,' while a paint-absorbing tree becomes a 'marvelous botanical harlequin.' Later, Alfanhui sets off on a tour of Castile, meeting his aged grandmother 'who incubated chicks in her lap and had a vine trellis of muscatel grapes and who never died.' This is a haunting adult reverie on life and beauty and as such will appeal to discriminating readers.'<br />
Starred review in Publisher's Weekly</p>

The Adventures of the Ingenious Alfanhui (Dedalus Europe)

Literature & Fiction

Literary

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ferlosio, Rafael Sanchez. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Ferlosio, Rafael Sanchez

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ferlosio, Rafael Sanchez. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

RIVER (Dedalus Europe 1992-2004)

The Adventures of the Ingenious Alfanhui (Dedalus Europe)