Saint Manuel Bueno, martyr - Miguel de Unamuno

Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo was born in Bilbao on 29th September
1864. He wrote novels, essays, poems and plays, and in addition
to these he played an important part in the political and
intellectual life of Spain - an involvement that led to his exile
to Fuerteventura in 1924.
San Manuel Bueno, martir
(1930) was his last novel before his death in 1936. It tells the story of a
heroic priest who has lost his faith in immortality, a theme that
had interested Unamuno for many years. The setting of the novel
is atmospheric and significant, the characters shadowy and
symbolic. The book overall is a synthesis of Unamuno's
philosophy.