Ana María Matute: “I have had a paper life”

Abstract

Ana María Matute was a prominent post-war Spanish novelist. She from her childhood she was an avid reader and a precocious writer. She loved classic European tales and, as a teenager, she became interested in Spanish authors of her time and before, as well as Don Quixote and other works by European writers. She was only nineteen years old when she published her first novel and right away she won some renowned literary awards. This obituary reviews her most important novels and stories and mentions that she was the third woman to enter the Royal Spanish Academy. Other subsequent recognitions were the Cervantes Prize and the National Prize for Spanish Letters. In short, a prolific writer and very dedicated to her passion is remembered, which, as she stated on multiple occasions, saved her from the sadness caused by having suffered the Spanish Civil War and many other vicissitudes.