A moving contribution to the tradition of the metaphysical novel as exemplified
by Dostoyevsky and Bernanos, and likewise a worthy counterpart to the vibrant an
d polyphonic work of fellow Iberians Camilo Jos? Cela and Juan Goytisolo, "The S
ea" is a cornerstone of postwar Catalan literature. Set in a tubercular sanatori
um in Mallorca after the Spanish Civil War, it tells the story of three children
sharing a gruesome secret who are brought together again by chance and illness
-- two patients and one nurse. A love triangle, a story of retribution, and an e
xploration of evil, "The Sea" is "a profound and radical descent into the depths
of the human soul." (Gerard de Cortanze)
