Magic, Vitality, and Tristesse in the Barcelona of the Early Franco Era

Lizard Tails arguably is one of the most gripping novels of Barcelona-born Juan Marsé in which he, as in his earlier narratives, perpetuates the memory of his Catalan hometown in literature. The novel is set in the Barcelona of 1945, a metropolis marked by the traces of poverty, hunger, and dictatorship; a city in which the henchmen of the regime chase their opponents, and life and survival are impossible without sacrifice.