José María Gironella
Encyclopedia
José María Gironella Pous (b. 31 December 1917, Darnius
d. 3 January 2003, Arenys de Mar
) was a Catalan
and Spanish
author
best known for his fiction
al work The Cypresses Believe in God (Los cipreses creen en Dios) published in Spain
in 1953, and translated into English by Harriet De Onís in 1955. The book is a novel
in two parts, and the first part of a trilogy, written from a Roman Catholic viewpoint, by its Catholic author, who had been educated in a seminary
--but whose approach is notable for its even-handedness and fair assessment of the many nuances and subtleties among all factions on the eve of war. The story is set in Girona
, a city in eastern Catalonia
, and follows the life of a family, from 1931 until the Spanish Civil War
breaks out in 1936. The protagonist
is the son of an atheist from Madrid
who is married to a devout Basque
woman, and has a younger brother and sister also caught up in the conflict. In a sequel to Cypresses, One Million Dead (Un Millón de Muertos), translated by Joan MacLean, Gironella follows the Alvear family through the war. The final book in the trilogy is Peace after War, published in English in 1969, also translated by MacLean.
While Gironella hated the polarization that led to Civil War, he supported the Spanish Nationalists who rallied around Franco
.. In a review in The New York Times Book Review, Gerald Brenan, an expert on Spanish literature, called the work absorbing and remarkably objective. In its pages, he said, "The sane and the moderate, caught helplessly in a dilemma they did not ask for, must throw in their lot with one violent party or another till mercifully the passions of the war submerge them and confirm their decision. It is this tragic unfolding of events which concerns this novel."
Darnius
Darnius is a municipality in the comarca of the Alt Empordà in Catalonia. The first document where is related Darnius was dated in 983, and the written name was Darnicibus...
d. 3 January 2003, Arenys de Mar
Arenys de Mar
Arenys de Mar , and de mar for by the sea as opposed to Arenys de Munt town inland) is one of the main municipalities of the comarca of Maresme, Barcelona Province, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the coast between Sant Vicenç de Montalt and Canet de Mar...
) was a Catalan
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
and Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
best known for his fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al work The Cypresses Believe in God (Los cipreses creen en Dios) published in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 1953, and translated into English by Harriet De Onís in 1955. The book is a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
in two parts, and the first part of a trilogy, written from a Roman Catholic viewpoint, by its Catholic author, who had been educated in a seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
--but whose approach is notable for its even-handedness and fair assessment of the many nuances and subtleties among all factions on the eve of war. The story is set in Girona
Girona
Girona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,236 in January 2009. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès...
, a city in eastern Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, and follows the life of a family, from 1931 until the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
breaks out in 1936. The protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
is the son of an atheist from Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
who is married to a devout Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
woman, and has a younger brother and sister also caught up in the conflict. In a sequel to Cypresses, One Million Dead (Un Millón de Muertos), translated by Joan MacLean, Gironella follows the Alvear family through the war. The final book in the trilogy is Peace after War, published in English in 1969, also translated by MacLean.
While Gironella hated the polarization that led to Civil War, he supported the Spanish Nationalists who rallied around Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
.. In a review in The New York Times Book Review, Gerald Brenan, an expert on Spanish literature, called the work absorbing and remarkably objective. In its pages, he said, "The sane and the moderate, caught helplessly in a dilemma they did not ask for, must throw in their lot with one violent party or another till mercifully the passions of the war submerge them and confirm their decision. It is this tragic unfolding of events which concerns this novel."