when we were yesterday
when we were yesterday is a historical fiction novel written by the renowned Barcelona author Pilar Eyre. This work—which happens to be Eyre's twenty-second—was published by the publisher Planet in 2022. The pen of the experienced journalist takes readers on a walk through an entire generation, from 1968 to 1992.
At the same time, this is a story that recounts a forbidden romance, fractured family relationships and a convulsive political atmosphere inspired by the Franco period. Pilar Eyre writes a moving narrative that reflects her own life, and the situations in which she found herself involved during this period of time, such as student struggles and her admission to the arts faculty.
Synopsis of when we were yesterday
About the plot
The novel tells the story of Silvia Muntaner and her family during the corresponding period between 1968 and 1992. Silvia is a beautiful and young bourgeois woman who must marry a man of good position., as their caste is in an unfortunate economic problem, and this is the only way they plan to recover. The girl's presentation to the men of Barcelona is at the Ritz hotel; however, Silvia never arrives.
Silvia Muntaner has divergent plans with respect to those of her mother, with whom she is in constant disagreement. The young woman does not want to marry an imposed gentleman, and, besides, she wants to study philosophy and letters. Likewise, the night that she must be presented in society, Silvia meets Rafael, the exact opposite of her family's aspirations, her great love, and the person who will change her life forever.
About the context of the work
The Muntaner family is ruined. His blanket-making business is in decline. According to the head of the family nucleus, John XXIII is to blame for this fact, who made the serious mistake of annulling the obligatory use of the veil and the mantilla in the masses celebrated in the country. This decision made family work and therefore, his money and his position, were decimated.
To find a solution to their terrible situation, the family places their hopes for a better future in Silvia., his young, beautiful and sensual daughter, who must find a rich husband. However, the girl never gets out of the taxi that would take her to her destination until she reached Chinatown, where she meets a group of her friends whom she admires.
Setting
En when we were yesterday, Pilar Eyre is in charge of creating an atmosphere charged with the reality lived in a quarter of a century. Barcelona between 1968 and 1992 is described by Eyre's characters as a city full of nuances, chiaroscuro, feeling of expansion, struggles and other setbacks. The protagonists of the story unfold within a vertiginous, accelerated pace of life and full of uncertainty.
This feeling of never knowing what will become of Barcelona is crowned by a historic event that took place since the 1992 Olympics. Until then, Eyre moves his characters from within the intimacy and daily life of the time.: their conflicts, battles and how people of lineage lived, their intra-family relationships, as well as the way in which the bourgeoisie viewed Francoism, nationalist groups, and families related to both groups.
Social classes
when we were yesterday makes a tour of the different social classes of the time covered by the plot. The participation of all groups is important to define and understand the thought, character and moral, social and political values of the protagonists and secondary characters. One of the harshest narratives tells how the rebels who acted in the shadows against the ruling regime in Barcelona lived.
In addition, Eyre's work tells about the immigration that came to Spain at the hands of people from Andalusia and other areas of Spain. These events transformed an entire society, a people who had to submit to changes in culture and customs, and who, over time, acquired an identity that stemmed from these upheavals. In this way, there is also talk about Franco's death and a mysterious illness.
Main characters
Silvia Muntaner
The protagonist of when we were yesterday She is a firm and determined young woman, who knows a forbidden love and must bridge the gaps between the people she loves., and who live in their city. In the course of the plot, she matures, and realizes that, perhaps, the differences between her and her family are not as many as she imagines.
Carmen Muntaner
Silvia Muntaner's mother has the strange idea that she was very much in love when she got married. Throughout the plot it is said to have fulfilled her work as a mother in an exceptional way and exemplary wife. However, she is not and has never been happy. Carmen discovers what her destiny can really be thanks to the erratic and rebellious behavior of her daughter.
About the author, Pilar Eyre Estrada
pillar eyre
Pilar Eyre Estrada was born in 1947, in Barcelona, Spain. She is a journalist, socialite, radio and television presenter, essayist and Spanish writer, recognized for writing in newspapers such as El Mundo, La Vanguardia, The Newspaper of Catalonia: Interview. Eyre studied Information Sciences, as well as Philosophy and Letters. Her knowledge led her through the world of news and social journalism until she jumped into literature in 1985.
In that year, Pilar Eyre published her first literary work, called Vips: all the secrets of the famous. Since then, his agile and prolific pen had no rest. In 2014 she was nominated for Planet Award thanks to his autobiographical novel My favorite color is green. Later, in 2015, he received the Joaquín Soler Serrano Prize for Literature.
Other books by Pilar Eyre
- It all started at the Marbella Club (1989);
- Oblivion alley (1992);
- Women, twenty years later (1996);
- Quico Sabaté, the last guerrilla (2001);
- Cybersex (2002);
- Two Bourbons at Franco's Court (2005);
- Secrets and lies of the Royal Family (2007);
- Rich, famous and abandoned (2008);
- The novel (2009);
- Imperial passion (2010);
- María la Brava: The king's mother (2010);
- The loneliness of the queen: Sofia a life (2012);
- The queen of the house (2012);
- Confidential frank (2013);
- Do not forget me (2015);
- A love from the East (2016);
- Carmen, the rebel (2018);
- A perfect gentleman (2019);
- I, the king (2020)