"Arroz y tartana" by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez is a novel published in 1894. Set in Valencia, it follows Doña Manuela Pajares, a twice-widowed woman determined to maintain appearances for her daughters' marriages despite mounting debts. As her family's fortune crumbles, her son gambles on the stock market hoping for salvation. The novel contrasts traditional commerce with risky financial speculation, exploring the clash between old certainties and modern temptations in late nineteenth-century Spanish society. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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