Summary of Last Evenings with Teresa
“Last Evenings with Teresa” tells the story of the doomed love affair between Manolo, a petty thief, seducer, and migrant from Andalusia, and Teresa, a left-wing student from the Catalan bourgeoisie. The novel begins when Manolo crashes a student party in the wealthy Barcelona district of Sant Gervasi, where he meets Maruja, one of Teresa’s maids. From this encounter develops the central relationship of the novel: the turbulent and ill-fated romance between Manolo and Teresa.
Reasons to read Last Evenings with Teresa
Widely regarded as a modern classic of Spanish literature, “Last Evenings with Teresa” offers a vivid portrait of Barcelona in the 1950s, with particular attention to the city’s social and cultural divisions. Through the relationship between Manolo and Teresa, Juan Marsé explores themes of class, identity, desire, political idealism, and social mobility, especially the tensions between the Catalan bourgeoisie and working-class migrants from other parts of Spain. Juan Marsé is considered one of the major Spanish novelists of the twentieth century and was awarded the Premio Cervantes in 2008. Other notable works by Marsé include “If They Tell You I Fell” (Si te dicen que caí), “Girl with Golden Panties” (La muchacha de las bragas de oro, winner of the Premio Planeta), “One Day I’ll Come Back” (Un día volveré), “The Bilingual Lover” (El amante bilingüe), “The Shanghai Spell” (El embrujo de Shanghai, winner of the Premio de la Crítica); and “Lizards’ Tails” (Rabos de Lagartija, winner of both the Premio de la Crítica and the Premio Nacional de Narrativa).
Setting: Barcelona (Spain)
Novel set in Barcelona, particularly the working-class district of El Carmel and the affluent district of Sant Gervasi.
Original title: Últimas tardes con Teresa
Year of publication: 1966
Nr of pages: 432
