Gonzalo Torrente Ballester (13 June 1910 – 27 January 1999) was a Spanish writer associated with the
Generation of '36 movement.
Life
He was born in
Serantes,
Ferrol,
Galicia, and received his first education there, subsequently attending the universities of
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...
and
Oviedo
Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...
.
Although primarily a
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
, he also published journalism, essays, and plays. His career as a writer began in
Oviedo
Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...
, but developed largely in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
.
Before the outbreak of the
Spanish civil war
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, he traveled to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
with the intention of writing his
doctoral thesis and there he was surprised by the
coup d'etat of July 18, 1936. After hesitating, he returned to Spain in October to be with his family. From the bus that was taking him home, he saw the bodies of victims of the repression in the ditches. His father exclaimed by way of greeting: "Don't you know that many of your friends have been shot?". He followed the recommendation of a priest he trusted and joined the
Falange. His first novel, ''Javier Mariño'', appeared in 1943, and he continued to publish novels almost until his death, receiving major prizes for some of them.
Despite his affiliation to the Falangists, from 1939, when he returned to Santiago to take up a university post, he increasingly distanced himself from the party. He joined in protests in favour of striking
Asturian miners in 1962, and was expelled from his teaching post at the university as a result. In the mid-1960s he had a number of problems with government censors.
He left Spain for a post at the
University at Albany, State University of New York in 1966, and remained there until 1973 as the university's first distinguished professor. In 1975 he moved to the city of
Salamanca
Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...
, where he remained until his death. After his return to
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, he was increasingly celebrated: he was elected to seat ''E'' of the
Real Academia Española, which he took up on 27 May 1977,
and was awarded the premier Spanish literary prize, the
Cervantes Prize, in 1985.
Immediately after his death, the Fundación Gonzalo Torrente Ballester was set up to protect, study and disseminate his work.
List of novels
* Javier Mariño (1943)
* El golpe de estado de Guadalupe Limón (1946)
* Ifigenia (1950)
*
Los gozos y las sombras: El Señor llega (1957) - , Donde da la vuelta el aire (1960), La Pascua triste (1962). Novel prize of the
Fundación Juan March
*
Don Juan (1963)
* Off-Side (1968)
*
La saga/fuga de J. B. (1972) - Critics' Prize and City of Barcelona Prize
* Fragmentos de Apocalipsis (1977)
* La isla de los jacintos cortados (1980) - National Literature Prize
* Dafne y ensueños (1982)
* Quizá nos lleve el viento al infinito (1984)
* La princesa durmiente va a la escuela (1985)
* La rosa de los vientos (1985)
* Yo no soy yo, evidentemente (1987)
*
Filomeno, a mi pesar (1988) -
Planeta Prize
*
Crónica del rey pasmado (1989)
* Las islas extraordinarias (1991)
* La muerte del decano (1992)
* La novela de Pepe Ansúrez (1994)
* La boda de Chon Recalde (1995)
* Los años indecisos (1997)
* Doménica (1999)
Screenplays
* ''
Night Arrival'' (1949)
* ''
Surcos'' (1951)
* ''
Devil's Roundup'' (1952)
* ''
Rebellion
Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
'' (1954)
See also
*
University of Santiago de Compostela
References
External links
*
Official site giving biographical and bibliographical material about Torrente Ballester and a good collection of images.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torrente Ballester, Gonzalo
1910 births
1999 deaths
People from Ferrol, Spain
Writers from Galicia (Spain)
Members of the Royal Spanish Academy
Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (National faction)
Premio Cervantes winners
Falangism
Spanish male writers
Spanish fascists
Spanish theatre critics
University at Albany, SUNY faculty
University of Oviedo alumni
Spanish writers