There is no true love save in suffering, and in this world we have to choose either love, which is suffering, or happiness. Man is the more man - that is, the more divine - the greater his capacity for suffering, or rather, for anguish.

The title deliberately recalls the famous novelas ejemplares of Miguel de Cervantes. It is based on his experiences as a child during the Carlist siege of Bilbao in the Third Carlist War. There is no need for us to say this with whispered tones.

Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo (29 September 1864 Bilbao Biscay Basque Country Spain – 31 December 1936 Salamanca Salamanca Castile and León Spain) was a Spanish essayist novelist poet playwright and philosopher. His major philosophical essay was The Tragic Sense of Life (1913) and his most famous novel was Abel Sánchez: The History of a Passion (1917) a modern exploration of the Cain and Abel story.