This is part of a series of lists I'm publishing to provide a concise and engaging overview of the literature of different cultures. I want to make clear that the purpose of this list is NOT to list the 50 best Spanish novels (only Spanish authors are in this list). Rather, it's to provide what I consider a good overview or cross-section of a culture's literature. For these lists, I have a framework that I am working within:
1) the novels should reflect the different periods of the course of literature over time, from the earliest literature to the most recent;
2) only ONE novel per author is allowed (a difficult task for authors such as Dickens, Hemingway, Coetzee, Austen, Mann, Dostoevsky, Murakami & Atwood, for instance);
3) the novels must cover all major genres;
4) the novels should reflect all aspects of a culture/country as much as possible; and
5) where possible, a few 'popular' novels, such as crime novels, should be included.
I hope people enjoy these as much as I have.
