The City of Marvels [Paperback]

Eduardo Mendoza's award-winning international bestseller, The City of Marvels, is an extraordinary tale of a fabulous city on the sea. Originally published in Spanish in 1986, it was later translated into English by Bernard Molloy for Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. in 1988. In this adventurous novel, the young protagonist, Onofre Bouvila, begins his lonely journey to Barcelona, a city with its own lifestyle, language and hierarchy. He goes to the city to find wealth. Throughout his life, Bouvila discovers how much corruption there is in Barcelona. He also meets people who help him fulfill his purpose in Barcelona.

The novel begins with Bouvila searching for a place to stay. As he wanders through the streets of Barcelona, he comes across Señor Braulio, a homeowner who rents out rooms. Bouvila decides to move into Braulio's boardinghouse. In order to pay his rent, Bouvila finds work distributing anarchist pamphlets, a job arranged by Delfina, Señor Braulio's daughter. Delfina is a frail and raggedy girl for whom Onofre develops an unhealthy obsession. Despite his attractions, love does not interfere with his main objective: To be an affluent and powerful man. Bouvila is sent to distribute the anarchist pamphlets at the 1888 World Fair construction site. By working at the World Fair, he is able to establish connections with people who later further his career. Initially, Bouvila is earning a very low pay by distributing the pamphlets. Later, he sells stolen merchandise from the world fair site and then joins a mob that virtually runs the city, and eventually becomes its leader. Through his innate sense of Catalan industrialism, manipulation and determination, he becomes a rich and important man who tricks and uses people. Two of the major themes of Bouvila's tale are place construction and the problems of urbanization in Barcelona.

Place construction is the term used to describe the attempt that Barcelona makes to portray itself to the rest of Spain and the rest of the world that it is important and a global city. To do this, Barcelona hosts two World Fairs which result in the selling of its history, culture, architecture, and people. Interestingly, the publication of this novel coincides historically with another era of place construction, the preparation for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.

The second theme is the problems of urbanization which have made Barcelona an uncomfortable and expensive place to live. Only a few areas were developed. This happened with the reality speculation and selective renovation which has occurred throughout Barcelona's history. Although Barcelona developed over time, it became congested and costly. Corruption led to construction of low quality housing. Instead of developing social classes, the poor were displaced. As a result, the rich became more rich and the poor became more poor with no middle class.

Even though the novel is fictional, it is based on historical fact, making it a dazzling piece of literature. The reader will learn about Barcelona, and still be entertained. I recommend The City of Marvels to anyone visiting Barcelona, because it contains everything one needs to know about it.

Eduardo Mendoza's 1986 Spanish novel The City of Marvels is a wonderful work which takes place in Barcelona during the late 1888-1929. It was translated in 1988 by Bernard Molloy and published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers. It opens with the protagonist, Onofre Bouliva, living in a boarding house ran by Delfina and her father Senor Braulio. While there Delfina helps him acquire a job for the anarchists group being run by Paulo where he begins handing out flyers promoting the group. Through this job Onofre begins to put his foot in the door of Barcelona. Constantly changing jobs, Onofre begins to sell hair products at the World fair, soon he becomes and arms dealer and then works his way up in the mob and finally he ends up in the movie business and buys a mansion in La Bonanova. Despite all this acquired wealth, Onofre was not happy; he always wanted more. This leads to his great escape from Barcelona at the 1929 World's Fair.

Onofre's constant desire for more supports the story's theme of power, greed and money. He always wanted to acquire more, but was never satisfied with what he had. Onofre left his home for Barcelona in search of a job and more money. Then after that, with every job he had, he always tried to make as much profit as possible. Even though people wanted to kill him, he was always focused on money. Onofre believed that with more money came more power, and acquiring more money would mean he would have more class. As an outsider, Onofre wished to be accepted in the Barcelonan society and be a part of the inner circle of the city's nobility.

Along with Greed, another major theme in the story is the development of space. People, culture, social distinctions and reality describe historical facts while incorporating fictional characters. As Barcelona expanded, the city began to be divided into sectors. The city began to expand and classes were established. Upper, middle, and lower classes were distinguished into certain areas of Barcelona. The emphasis of urban development for the World's Fair parallels the time frame of the book and the urban development of the city for the Olympics.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Barcelona or just a good leisure read. It has many relevant topics about the Barcelona culture and tells an intriguing story and overall is a very good book and is highly recommended.

Eduardo Mendoza has certainly done it again. The City of Marvels is a colorful tale of Barcelona in the late 1800s and early 1900s that has captivated audiences from all around the world. Throughout the novel Mendoza unravels a mesmerizing story that touches on enticing themes including anarchism, political corruption, the influence of money, cynical manipulations of power, and of course, sexuality and romance. The constant references to governmental corruption and prostitution give the reader large insights as to the ways of the old city. The book follows Onofre Bouvila from the time he arrives in Barcelona as an adolescent through his development into the money-hungry entrepreneur that he becomes. Mendoza leads his readers into feeling sorry for this antihero with his emotional struggles over his failed father and his consistently bad relationships. Onofre discovers himself at the first of two world fairs in Spain, and after over 3 decades of achievements and let-downs the story winds to an end as the second world fair is coming to a start. In his quest to make money he falls into a long list of jobs including the distribution of anarchist pamphlets, smuggling arms during the war, and developing a silent movie industry that eventually fails.

The most interesting part of this novel is the parallel between Onofre's life and the development of the city of Barcelona at the turn of the 20th Century. As Onofre builds his fortune and reconstructs everything around him time and time again, Barcelona undergoes similar renovations and changes in the preparations for the World Fairs and the beautification of old structures. When Onofre grows and matures, the city expands and develops. When Onofre suffers personal blows in his relationships, Barcelona undergoes painful corruption that is detrimental to the heart of the city. This undeniable comparison leads the reader through a history lesson as it weaves throughout the fiction of the character's lives and the reality of the triumphs and failures of the city. Surprises lie at each turn of the novel and although the ending leaves you wanting more, it is definitely not a disappointment.