Zalacaín the Adventurer is one of the most popular novels by a member of the Generation of '98, and yet book and author are largely unknown in this country. Pio Baroja wrote more than 100 works and has been published as recently as 1995 in Spain. There's even a promenade, Paseo Pio Baroja, in San Sebastian (130 miles northwest of Madrid) named after him. Although supposedly influenced by Nietzsche, Baroja regales us with a delightful sense of humor and an upbeat perspective in Zalacaín the Adventurer. With this translation by James P. Diendl, Pio Baroja's US reputation is assured. The novel recounts the life of a remarkable Basque man named Martin Zalacaín, hero of the last of the Spanish Carlist Wars. A native of Urbia (now Euskal Herria), Martin's adventures in nonconformity are hilarious. Disdainful of the rigid, bloodthirsty Spanish rule and contemptuous of the blind religious passion of his countrymen, he cleverly disguises his liberal views from all but his closest colleagues. With his comrades, Martin Zalacaín commits dastardly "crimes" against Spain and France. In one slapstick sequence, he pretends to be French one minute and Basque the next, kidnapping nuns and posing as a Carlist general to outwit his enemies. With luck as his faithful if mischievous ally, Martin escapes from one predicament only to find himself in a worse, if funnier, situation. This most complete and modern of Baroja's novels gives the reader a vivid picture of the Basque people and the flavor of 19th-century Spain. Translator James P. Diendl has a master's degree in Spanish Language and Literature from Ohio State University.
