Marks of Identity by Juan Goytisolo

[Tatjana]

“Marks of Identity” is one of the great Spanish novels of second part of the last century. As many others, it is burdened by political situation and civil war in Spain before and after Second World War. Its main character, to whom the author addresses in second person – as you, is Alvaro Mendiola. He is an émigré who lives in Paris after his escape from Spain and is affected by tragic events in which his family took part. Juan Goytisolo depicts poverty, civil war, political situation mostly from perspective of young adults. It has a deep nostalgia tone and often is pessimistic, disturbing and sometimes even brutal.
My rating: 3 stars

[Diane]

Rating: 3 stars

It is interesting to note that this Spanish novel was actually published in Mexico first, and didn't get published in Spain for another three years. This was an important novel in that it changed the once typical style of literature in Spain. It is considered to be the first "important" novel of post-Civil War Spain.

In this novel, the main character returns to Spain after a self-imposed exile. The book also takes the reader back to main character's childhood nd the events leading to his family's flight to France during the Spanish Civil War. Major themes include the
upheaval and disclocation brought about by the war and finding one's place in the world.

[Rosemary]

This begins as the story of a well-off Spanish boy whose father is killed by republicans during the civil war in a confused and violent incident on a country road. Later, in the 1950s, Alvaro is in exile in France, having switched to the republican side himself with Spain under Franco's control. Some of his friends seem to be under surveillance by the secret police, who give them code names. Scenes from his later life in other places are mixed in. Sometimes he is addressed as "you" (or maybe sometimes the person addressed is someone else, I wasn't always sure). And there are various other characters either in exile or living in poverty in Spain.

I read this in small chunks because I found it so fragmented that I couldn't concentrate if I tried to read more than about 20 pages at a time. I would love parts of it, then it would diverge into something that didn't relate at all.