Puértolas Villanueva, Soledad

b. 1947, Zaragoza

   Writer

   Born into a middle-class family, Soledad Puértolas moved to Madrid at the age of 14 in 1961, where she took a degree in journalism, followed by a Master's in Spanish Literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Returning to Spain, she devoted herself to writing fiction, and won the Sésamo Prize with her first novel, El bandido doblemente armado (The Twice-Armed Bandit) (1980). This was followed by Burdeos (Bordeaux) (1986), Todos mienten (Everyone Lies) (1988), Queda la noche (The Night Remains) (1989), Días del arenal (Quicksand Days) (1991), and Si al atardecer llegara el mensajero (If the Messenger Came at Dusk) (1995). She has also produced two collections of short stories, Una enfermedad moral (A Moral Disease) (1982) and La corriente del golfo (Gulf Stream) (1993), and two volumes of children's stories, La sombra de una noche (The Shadow of a Night) (1986), and El recorrido de los animales (The Animals" Journey) (1988). Non-fictional work includes the essay La vida oculta (The Hidden Life) (1993), for which she won the Anagrama Prize, and an early study of the fiction of Pío Baroja (1872–1956), published in 1971.

   Unlike many of her female contemporaries, Puértolas is not regarded primarily as a feminist writer, though some of her novels portray the oppression of women. She is, however, less interested in large issues concerning the structure of society than in individuals" search for identity and meaning in their lives, an issue which affects male and female characters equally.

   See also: novel; women's writing

   EAMONN RODGERS