Abel Sanchez and Other Stories

Some thirty years ago, I read, in Spanish, the novella "San Manuel Bueno, martyr", included in this collection. This week I read it again. As a young man, to me it seemed that San Manuel had dishonestly misled the devout peasants of his isolated village. At nearly age 60, I now accept my own foibles and those of others, so I can see that San Manuel had found perhaps the only compassionate solution to the dilemma of his own clear vision surrounded by the benighted -- and sacrificed himself to it. As I write this review, in 2004, we are spectators to a world torn by conflict between devout fanatics. Does Unamuno's solution hold in a world where such devout believers burst forth from their villages to inflame the world in the name of their narrow beliefs?

These three stories, in addition to being a great read, really moved me. Yet I can't fully pin point why I enjoyed this collection so much. Maybe it was Miguel de Unamuno's unique background as a Christian existentialist writing in the early twentieth century. Maybe it was the influence of cubism on his approach to these three stories. Perhaps it was just the stories themselves; I really grew attached to these characters and the subject matter. Abel Sanchez and The Madness of Doctor Mantarco are great reflections on art (and these stories are adequately discussed in other reviews) but my personal favorite was San Manuel Bueno, Martyr. The story about a well respected priest who no longer believes in God sounds cliche, Miguel de Unamuno writes it in a way that is heartbreakingly tragic. Because the story moved me on a decidedly personal level, it's hard for me to recommend this book with certainty: how am I to know whether it's true art, or whether it's a novel I happened to just particularly like? Still, I can speak for myself: Abel Sanchez and Other Stories is an impeccable piece of literature.

..and other themes are treated in this volume. Abel Sanchez, the title narrative, is an incredible reterlling of the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. Unamuno is able to interweave christian faith and spanish culturalism in order to create a morally compelling story. This collection has had a profound influence on me. I highly recommend it if you are interested in Christianity, Spanish literature, or even good literature.

Miguel De Unamuno uses his two lead characters Abel Sanchez and Joaquin Monegro along with more than enough biblical metaphors to tell this wonderful story. This is possibly one of the best books I have ever read and if you are an avid Latin American Literature aficionado as I am, I highly recommend this gem of a book.

I read the Spanish version of this story a year ago and loved it. Unamuno probes the psychology of envy, which he describes as "the national disease of Spain", showing the self-hatred involved. This is a story of Cain and Abel told with loving understanding for Cain.