San Manuel Bueno, Martyr

Miguel de Unamuno · 1864–1936 · Spain

Originally San Manuel Bueno, mártir (Spanish)

Why it matters

A beloved village priest secretly doubts the resurrection he preaches every Sunday, sustaining his parish's faith at the cost of his own. Unamuno's last major fiction distills his lifelong argument with belief into a single devastating figure.

At a glance

Short but theologically dense, its irony requires careful reading.