But what conclusions can be drawn from an overall reading of Jaume Cabré's work? Firstly, it should be said that each of his books focuses on an important aspect of the human condition. For example, L’ombra de l’eunuc addresses the theme of human creativity; Fra Junoy… deals with the theme of human freedom and intolerance; Senyoria with law and justice; La teranyina with the desire for power; Galceran… with human passion, and so on. Each book is a completely stand-alone work, and is now part of a long frieze reminiscent of the great narrative projects of novelists such as Eça de Queiroz and Balzac.(...)
Later, from an overall reading of his narrative work, we realise that Jaume Cabré has produced an extensive and sustained body of work that has enriched the Catalan novel as a genre. And here I am referring to various formal themes:
(1) The plot: the author is a skilled architect of difficult but rewarding narrative structures using the two major components of complexity and order.
(2) Point of view: Cabré does not believe in absolute truths and has therefore made valuable contributions to the discipline of multiple narrators, precisely in order to represent the relativity of our opinions on the fundamental issues in life.
(3) Characters: to incarnate these broad concepts forming the backbone of his narrative production, Cabré has created a varied gallery of extraordinary characters such as Fra Junoy, Miquel Gensana, Rafael Massó, Julià Rigau, Galceran, Luvowski and many others, who live on in readers' minds long after they have finished reading the book.
(4) Settings: over the course of his various narrative cycles, Jaume Cabré has managed to create a whole topography that serves as a backdrop to the human dramas he tells; this topography takes on its own special meaning as a kind of artistic ownership of the Catalan landscape.
(5) Time: the timeframes created by Cabré for his fiction reveal some sharp portraits of Catalonia in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, providing some original contributions to his country's historical map. In summary, and in terms of his overall production, Cabré has portrayed the birth of modern Catalonia.
(6) Language: over the years, Jaume Cabré has gradually built up a model literary language that is hugely sensitive and agile, and yet apparently simple.
(...)Wide-ranging and hugely profound moral tales of great humanity. This is Jaume Cabré's narrative style and La teranyina is the first in a long list of genuine successes.
Extract from the Preface to La teranyina ‘Biblioteca Jaume Cabré’ edition. Proa Barcelona 2005