Misericordia
By Benito Pérez Galdós and Andrew Crumey
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
Benito Pérez Galdós
Benito Pérez Galdós (1843-1920) was a Spanish novelist. Born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, he was the youngest of ten sons born to Lieutenant Colonel Don Sebastián Pérez and Doña Dolores Galdós. Educated at San Agustin school, he travelled to Madrid to study Law but failed to complete his studies. In 1865, Pérez Galdós began publishing articles on politics and the arts in La Nación. His literary career began in earnest with his 1868 Spanish translation of Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers. Inspired by the leading realist writers of his time, especially Balzac, Pérez Galdós published his first novel, La Fontana de Oro (1870). Over the next several decades, he would write dozens of literary works, totaling 31 fictional novels, 46 historical novels known as the National Episodes, 23 plays, and 20 volumes of shorter fiction and journalism. Nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times without winning, Pérez Galdós is considered the preeminent author of nineteenth century Spain and the nation’s second greatest novelist after Miguel de Cervantes. Doña Perfecta (1876), one of his finest works, has been adapted for film and television several times.
Read more from Benito Pérez Galdós
Big Book of Christmas Tales: 250+ Short Stories, Fairytales and Holiday Myths & Legends Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDoña Perfecta Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLeon Roch (Musaicum Romance Series) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Spendthrifts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMisericordia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Doña Perfecta (Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Big Christmas Basket: 200+ Christmas Novels, Stories, Poems & Carols (Illustrated): Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, The Gift of the Magi, A Christmas Carol, Silent Night, The Three Kings, Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Heavenly Christmas Tree, Little Women, The Tale of Peter Rabbit… Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Misericordia
Related ebooks
The Wine-ghosts of Bremen Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThree Lives - The Stories of the Good Anna, Melanctha and the Gentle Lena: With an Introduction by Sherwood Anderson Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSons and Lovers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOur Tangled Speech: Essays on Language and Culture Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Triumph of Death Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Works of Terence. Illustrated: The Girl from Andros, The Eunuch and others Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMagnus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Earthly Paradise - Part 1: "The reward of labour is life. Is that not enough?" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Truth about Marie Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Revolution Street Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI'm Writing You from Tehran: A Granddaughter's Search for Her Family's Past and Their Country's Future Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJourney through a Tragicomic Century: The Absurd Life of Hasso Grabner Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe American Scene Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDownstream Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe House by the Medlar Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Always Crashing in the Same Car: A Novel after David Bowie Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA People's History of the French Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Princess of Cleves Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWarning to the Crocodiles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Inland Voyage Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThree Novellas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAt the Blue Monkey: 33 Outlandish Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Child of Pleasure Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Past Imperfect: French Intellectuals, 1944-1956 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Red and The Black Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFootball and Colonialism: Body and Popular Culture in Urban Mozambique Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMardi by Herman Melville - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudy Guide to The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPublic Reading Followed by Discussion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBartleby, The Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
General Fiction For You
The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Ends with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mythos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Sister's Keeper: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unhoneymooners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Outsider: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The King James Version of the Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fellowship Of The Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anonymous Sex Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Nettle & Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heroes: The Greek Myths Reimagined Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Covenant of Water (Oprah's Book Club) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dante's Divine Comedy: Inferno Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond Good and Evil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Priory of the Orange Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations: Complete and Unabridged Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life of Pi: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beartown: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Candy House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cabin at the End of the World: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Iliad of Homer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shantaram: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Man Called Ove: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Misericordia
42 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5For those of you who don't know it, Benito Pérez Galdós was possibly the most important novelist of the Realism in Spain - he's our very own Gustave Flaubert. You probably don't know this, because he very nearly received the Nobel prize, but ultimately didn't. Something to do with politics.
At any rate, some of his best novels draw a very interesting outline of the lives of the middle and lower classes in 19th century Madrid. This is one of them.
The story revolves around Benina, the old servant of an Andalusian lady who now lives on the verge of poverty. Benina loves her dearly, and uses every resource she has to make sure that she gets something to eat at the end of the day. To this purpose she walks up and down the poorest neighborhoods in Madrid, where her path crosses with a great variety of characters - many of which she ends up helping as well, with what little she has to offer.
Mind you, Benina's not a classical heroine. She doesn't practice charity in the name of religion, or pities herself for her misfortunes. She's a brave woman with a great sense of humor, and she does what she does because she's strong and street-smart, and somebody's got to take care of these poor bastards right?
Galdós was famous for having a special sensitivity for popular language, which was his strongest descriptive tool. This is specially true in this particular case. Benina talks in a very characteristic way - fast and amusing and so very local. It makes this book taste of Madrid, which I guess is the whole point of a Realist novel. 5/5.