Miguel Delibes is about to leave

I read tonight, with great sadness, that one of the very best Spanish writers of the XX century, Miguel Delibes, is dying.

His figure in the Spanish Literature has a profound impact, and the quality of his books is nothing short of astonishing; to the point that many people (including me) think that the Nobel Prize for Literature, given in 1989 to Camilo José Cela (another great writer, no doubt) was even further deserved by Delibes. His ability to describe personalities, the exquisite taste for the treatment of daily tragedies (best evidenced in Los Santos Inocentes, which gave rise to a magnificent movie of the same title), or the deep love for nature, are all signatures of his work.

I personally was boldly impressed by reading, when I was 14 years old, his novel "El Camino" (The way). I hope some of the many qualitys from his really outstanding Spanish were transferred to my poor Spanish, as he's always been a model of compact, consistent, brief, precise and well structured use of language.

May Delibes rest in peace, and may he receive the many homages deserved for a fruitful career in first rate Literature.