The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes

El Greco, Saint Martin and the Beggar,  1597-1599, National Gallery of Art

By Anonymous, New York: New York Review of Books, 2005, p.118

This narrative tells the story of a poor young man who struggles to find a master, and therefore a livelihood, in 16th century Spain.  Identified as the first picaresque novel, a tale about petty criminals or disreputable members of society, Lazarillo de Tormes revolves around a marginalized protagonist during Spain's Golden Age.  Lazarillo cycles through masters who are types--a greedy priest, a lying friar, and an impoverished nobleman who is too full of his own dignity to work. Beyond this novel's lively critique of the Catholic Church and Spanish social life, it is an important literary precursor to Vanity Fair and Huckleberry Finn.

The early novels on The List are proving to be, in the words of Ms. Smiley, "uncongenial works."  Lazarillo has an engaging voice, but the tale felt fragmentary and crude.   I love the history of Early Modern Europe and want to hear stories from those who are usually silenced.  I was, despite all that, distracted.