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I am such a huge fan of La Regenta by Leopoldo Alas that I tracked down several of his out-of-print English translations and devoured them, too. So I was extremely happy to see NYRB will be releasing His Only Son with a new translation by Margaret Jull Costa this fall. (Nice to see I have […]
His Only Son by Leopoldo Alas Translation and introduction by Julie Jones Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press (1981) ISBN 0-8071-0759-xHis Only Son proves to be a difficult novel to describe but one that should be every bit as notable as La Regenta. Or rather, every bit as notable as La Regenta **should** be. Once […]
In His Only Son, Alas has drawn some remarkable characters. Emma Valcárcel, the wife of Bonifacio Reyes (Bonis), almost steals the novel. As I mentioned in the previous post, the names often provide either meaning or irony in Alas’ work. Emma’s name may recall Emma Bovary, but as I mentioned in the previous post that […]
Continuing the story of His Only Son…Part One can be found in this post. Bonifacio Reyes finds himself in a dilemma. First he was unfaithful to his wife with Serafina, the soprano of the visiting opera troupe. His wife’s unexpected advances one evening cause him to be an unfaithful lover, too. Bonis didn’t know…no one […]
Often dismissed as Leopoldo Alas’ only other finished novel after La Regenta, His Only Son (1890) stands on its own and is a delight to read. Much less sweeping in scope than La Regenta, Alas remains the critic in His Only Son, targeting many of the same topics for judgment and satire as in the […]