La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes (The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and of His Fortunes and Adversities) is a classic Spanish book written in 1554 by anonymous authors.
Besides its importance in the Spanish literature of the Golden Age, La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes is credited with founding a literary genre.
This extensive genre includes Cervantes’ Rinconete y Cortadillo and El coloquio de los perros, Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones and Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Its influence even extends into twentieth century novels, dramas and films featuring the “anti-hero”.
The book was deemed too blunt and heretic in a time where religious fervor and zealotry was at its highest.
Due to its anti-clerical flavor the book was banned by the Spanish Crown and included in the Index of Forbidden Books of the Spanish Inquisition.
La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes is aimed at native speakers or very advanced Spanish speakers and is available to be read for free through The Gutenberg Project.
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