Alberto Méndez's The Blind Sunflowers: A Post-War Reflection

Alberto Méndez's *The Blind Sunflowers*: A Post-War Reflection

The text before us belongs to the book The Blind Sunflowers, by Alberto Méndez (1941-2005), a writer unknown until the appearance of this work, but connected to the world of publishing and the author of scripts for television. Despite being his first and only book (the author died eleven months after publication), The Blind Sunflowers was met with unanimous recognition from critics and was posthumously awarded the prestigious 2005 National Book Award and the 2005 Critics' Prize.

The work consists of four separate stories cleverly interwoven with each other. In these stories are narrated personal defeats framed in the most difficult period of the Spanish Civil War, the years 1936 to 1942. Each story is numbered with the nickname of defeat and a subtitle, as the author's aim with this work is to give voice to the side of the defeated and thus contribute to the recovery of the memory of the war and the subsequent repression. According to the author, this is the only way to facilitate the necessary work of mourning for the reconciliation of the two Spains.

Miguel de Unamuno's *San Manuel Bueno, Martyr*: A Study in Faith

This fragment belongs to the novel *San Manuel Bueno, Martyr*, written by the celebrated novelist, essayist, and poet Miguel de Unamuno Bilbao (1864-1936). As a member of the traditionally called Generation of '98, Unamuno shared with other members the rejection of realist literature and contributed mightily to the renewal of narrative and Castilian.

The novel that concerns us is a good example of the changes made to the narrative of the time and shares the defining features of his remaining novelistic work. Like his other Nivola, the main theme revolves around the search for meaning in life (in this case, a search centered on the question of faith) and its star can be interpreted as an alter ego of the author, as it spills out his own concerns, the anguish caused by the conflict between reason and faith.

Indeed, *San Manuel Bueno, Martyr*, written in 1914, focuses on the religious conflict of a pastor admired and loved by his people. Despite having lost faith, the priest hides his conflict and continues his teaching, driven by the conviction that his parishioners need faith to be happy and their happiness is what justifies or sanctifies his deception.