Cela obituary

[Doug Millison]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,3604,635290,00.html

"[...] Normally in Cela's books, women deceive, men are pigs, everyone lies
and poses. This was the bitter, scathing flavour of his most famous novel,
La colmena (The Hive), which took him five years to write, was banned in
Spain, and published first in Buenos Aires in 1951. It describes three
freezing winter days in 1943 Madrid - in a revolutionary style of hundreds
of short cinematic scenes and more than 200 characters. It produced
numerous imitators, contributing to what became known as the school of
Madrid realist writers. "La colmena," wrote Cela, "is just a slice of life,
a pale reflection of daily, bitter, loveable, painful reality. Those who
want to disguise life with the mad mask of literature are liars."  [...]
After the Nobel, Cela became a celebrity. He enjoyed touring Spain in his
Rolls Royce, appearing with his young, second wife at fashionable
restaurants and reminiscing about Pío Baroja, whose pallbearer he had been,
or Ernest Hemingway, with whom he attended bullfights. [...]"