De la búsqueda de la novela total al encuentro del éxito masivo: la trilogía de José María Gironella y su trayectoria como objeto predilecto de la Historia Cultural

Abstract

JMG' novelistic trilogy about civil war is a hapax in the Spanish cultural panorama. The reception of this first Spanish best-seller, from first praises to growing disdain, reveals an increasing gap between the literary critics who had been defending an elitist view of culture since the beginning of the 40's, and mass culture. The principles of totality and impartiality for which the author stands lead to a fantasised vision of the Spanish history and society. History disappears transformed into myths and unreality by the middle class vision and a very specific treatment of time. However, the dominant conservative ideology was never a bridle to editorial success. The art of story-telling, humour and narrative efficiency based on an ethical and anti historical conception of the Spanish soul, subtly used by Gironella's publisher, are keys to understand the « minor» cultural object and its mass consumption.