A review by sarah_dietrich
The Hive by Camilo José Cela

3.0

Camilo Jose Cela was a Spanish author who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1989. Cela wrote some of his best known work during the Franco era. He was a Franco supporter and even though the Franco government had a complete ban on his work, Cela continued to work as an informer for Franco's secret police. Cela was famously outspoken later in life, saying all sorts of outrageous things, including some homophobic nonsense. Overall he was a jerk of a person. Luckily for us, he was an amazing writer. The Hive is Cela's masterpiece. Set in Madrid in December 1943, the Spanish civil war has ended & WWII rages across Europe. The people of Madrid are poor and hungry. Cela represents post-civil war Madrid by taking the daring, innovative approach of rendering 300-odd named characters in this slim, 250-page volume. Madrid seethes with life, no character in the hive being hugely significant in isolation, instead making part of a powerful whole.

Re-read five years later, didn't enjoy it as much the second time.