The Thirteenth Summer

Ian C. Nelson is assistant director of libraries at the University of
Saskatchewan and director of La Troupe du Jour, Regina Summer Stage.

José Luis Olaizola is a prolific Spanish writer who has known immense
popular success and critical acclaim. This book, published in Spanish
under the title Planicio, was awarded the Premio Ateneo de Sevilla in
1976.

The novel takes place in the city of San Sebastian, the author’s
birthplace. It centres on an adolescent boy and his father, who finds
employment caring for a dying invalid. The hopelessly limited horizons
imposed by their extreme poverty are almost miraculously expanded when
they come into contact with this rich, retired banker. It is the man’s
spirit and imagination that spark the change. The father contributes to
the summer of flowering by refusing to treat the banker as anything less
than complete, even in the face of his physical infirmities.

Olaizola’s text is rich with details of local life and customs set
against the political and cultural tensions of the region (Galicia and
Basque interests vs. national Spanish attitudes). This is the kind of
novel one would expect to see made into a film like Mon Oncle
Antoine or Le Matou. Susan Ouriou’s translation has a slightly more
literary feel than the Spanish original.