Abel Sánchez: Una Historia de Pasión

by Miguel de Unamuno

"Abel Sánchez: Una Historia de Pasión" by Miguel de Unamuno is a novel written in 1917. This modern retelling of the biblical Cain and Abel story explores a lifelong rivalry between two friends, Joaquín and Abel. When one receives society's adoration while the other feels perpetually scorned, envy becomes an all-consuming force. Through confessional fragments, dialogue, and narrative, Unamuno examines whether envy is a universal human condition or a distinctly Spanish affliction, tracing how attempts at reconciliation—through marriage, religion, and family—inevitably transform into deeper conflict.