Celebration in the Northwest — Ana Maria Matute

A tragic tale of hatred between two half-brothers, Celebration in the Northwest (Fiesta al Noroeste) is a gripping novel by Ana María Matute, one of twentieth-century Spain's most important writers.

 

At the center of the novel are confessions that the protagonist, Juan Medinao, makes to a local priest in the fictional Castilian town of Artámila. Those confessions reveal the volatile mixture of attraction and repulsion between Juan and his half-brother, Pablo. In describing the troubled bond between these characters, Matute creates a harrowing, modern enactment of the Biblical tale of Cain and Abel. Celebration in the Northwest is remarkable for its evocative prose, its riveting plot, and its portrayal of a character overcome by bitterness, envy, rage, and alienation.