In “Nada” Laforet creates a setting where I felt on edge the entire book. Following the orphan protagonist Andrea through the ruins of war struck Barcelona, she navigates a new hostile family dynamic while eager to study. The narration of the story carried a creepy, paranoid, and overall unsettling feeling of post war trauma.
A theme I found that was carried from previous texts so far has been memory. In “Nada” Andrea’s more positive memories of Barcelona come from her childhood spent there. But when she returns …“Everything felt unfamiliar in my imagination; the narrow, worn mosaic steps, lit by an electric light, found no place in my memory” (page 5). The effects of the war seem to disrupt and alter how she sees the city. Like the madeleine cookie in Proust and the family members in “The Shrouded Woman” memories are also triggered but by aspects of the city. For example, on page 10″of the Barcelona in my memory: this sound of the first streetcars”, the painting of her grandparents bring her back to a more pleasant time where she wasn’t trapped in this toxic, almost suffocating, family. It made me wonder how Andrea’s experience in Barcelona would differ if the effects of the war weren’t as prominent.
Looking at the narration style, I noticed that Andrea was mostly uninvolved in the dialogue and was used to further the development of other characters or the plot rather than express her own feelings. For instance from pages 31-34 while her Grandmother and Gloria are engaging in reliving memories and discussion, Andrea is just being talked at. The effect of this is an overwhelming amount of information being thrown at Andrea who we’ve gathered is quite timid and reserved. I think she serves more as a device to carry the story rather than a typical protagonist.
Although it is fiction, I believe this book serves as a great historical account on the mood of the people in Franco’s Spain. Distraught, paranoid, and unable to trust anyone in fear that they’re working for the other side. But Andrea and her family are a fairly wealthy family with servants and a giant mansion so I wonder how this book would differ with a change in social class. It’s hard to ignore the privilege that Andrea’s family has and how it gives them an advantage in the wreck of the war-torn city. I’m curious if any of you have any thoughts about this question on how the social class of the family effects the story.
Overall I enjoyed this book and i’m looking forward to all of your thoughts!