The Shack, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez

The Shack
(Tr. Spa.-Eng. from a review in Shvoong)

 Batiste and his family, driven by hunger and the lack of jobs, move with their belongings to a Valencian town. There they occupy an empty hut on land to till, after an agreement with the owner of these lands.

 The neighbors see the arrival of this family giving them the eye, since a problem had emerged in this village ten years ago and since then those lands have been cursed . Back then, Barret and his family lived in the hut and he worked the lands to live on them. However, his work was in vain, since it was not enough to feed his family and, in addition, to pay the price demanded by the owner. Not being able to meet costs, the tenant requested the eviction in order to lease the lands to other people. In a moment of despair, Barret committed a killing in this village of farmers. All the neighbors defended him before the jury providing an alibi. Since then, the people in the village felt closer than ever and swore that these lands would never be tilled again or that shack occupied as a sign of opposition to landowners as the farmers were subjected to hard work in exchange for a very costly lease and thus left in poverty.

 Since their arrival to this village, Batiste and his family are hated by all the people. Though warned by the priest, Batiste did not take notice and settled. He was a good man and all he wanted was to work to feed and keep his family going. He did not intend to hurt anyone. From that moment, they were psychological and physically abused by their neighbors. This situation led to Batiste's younger son dying. As a result, the people felt shocked and guilty of the little's death. Their repentance led neighbors to visit the dead and take care of the burial.

 Then there was a period of calm for Batiste and his. But this happiness was not to last much. Pimentó, Batiste's greatest enemy, made hatred rose again and threatened to kill him if he did not leave. As Batiste refused to leave, Pimentó pursued him overnight as he returned from the hunt to his hut and shot him. He failed in his two attempts and the ending was fatal to this enemy called Pimentó, who finally died in his attempt to kill the other. The next night, the hut was burnt by the neighbors, who finally forced Batiste to leave the village.

 The hard work in exchange for scraps, exhaustion and hunger are capable of attaching an entire people and bring forth endless hatred towards those who oppress them. This hatred is expanded to all who do not bind to the misery of these workers.

 This work was written at the end of 1898 and in the Spanish language, despite being a region of Valencia, in order to get to more readers. The Shack is the most famous novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez (1867-1928).