Crónica del desamor / Absent Love: A Chronicle
Novel , 1979
Alfaguara
Pages: 264
Journalist Montero's important first novel is set in the mid-1970s, a time of immense transformation in Spanish society. The oppressive Fascist state has been dismantled following the death of Franco, and traditional gender roles and stereotypes are giving way. The book follows Ana, a 30-year-old single mother living in Madrid, and a group of career women as they negotiate the uncharted waters of equality. Flashbacks showing what it was like before the transition only serve to heighten the sense that beneath the surface, despite outward changes, much remains the same. Men still act out traditional roles. Women are left confused as to how to behave in the midst of this social flux.