A Light Comedy by Eduardo Mendoza

I just finished A Light Comedy by Eduardo Mendoza. This book follows Prullas, a formerly successful spanish playwright, during a post civil war summer. A quote on the cover of the book states that the author's style is evocative of this era. I realized while reading this that I have read painfully few examples of spanish literature that take place in Spain. I've read a few Marquez books and The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano but the majority of these books take place in Mexico and Central America. So the setting of A Light Comedy is not one that I am familiar with. According to what I've read online, poverty and paranoia were prevalent during this era, which were portrayed convincingly in this book. Prullas is an obviously well-off individual, having married into a wealthy family. His easy life contrasts with those surrounding him including the house keeper who serves him, a young girl who is acting in one of his plays, and individuals at a shady bar that he visits late one night.

The start of the book is slow. Prullas observes as a close friend of his tries to direct one of his thriller-comedies, which are slowly becoming outdated. He travels between Barcelona and a seaside resort town where his family is spending the warmer months. Prullas alternates between being a doting father and husband and a philanderer who attempts to seduce almost all the attractive women he meets during the novel.

About half way through the novel a minor character is murdered and the story seems to evolve into a plot reminiscent of one of Prullas's plays. A Kafkaesque drama ensues where Prullas is the main murder suspect despite the lack of evidence.

One of the themes of the novel seems to be Prullas's treatment of women. He uses every single female character in the novel in one way or another, from servant to mistress. He never find himself guilty for initiating an affair with a woman who subsequently becomes mentally unstable and at the end of the novel is about to undergo a lobotomy. At one point he abandons a woman who, in order to save his life, was grievously wounded. Despite the fact that most of the other characters are aware of this behavior none of them seem to find it contemptible. However, I do believe that the author was aware of this behavior and tried to draw attention to it.