Lovers of fantasy literature often complain that the genre has not traditionally been well treated in our literary histories. And that this has meant that it has in turn been held in lesser esteem by the public and the critics. They are not wrong. It is also often studied that realism is an outstanding feature of our literature, both the grotesque and stark realism of the picaresque and the ironic and subtle elegance of Clarín. It is undoubtedly the style that most Spanish authors cultivate today. And yet, there is Don Quixote.

Because there are realities that can only be accessed well through fiction and, after all, realism is as much fiction as cyberpunk themes. So there are writers who, in order to explain themselves, feel more comfortable showing the artifice in plain sight. Calling 'Ardid' the cunning queen of Olar and 'Predilecto' the fragile child learning to love. Showing childish innocence in all its disarming naivety, and the cruelty and disenchantment of those who have come to power as a sad warning, just as traditional tales have always conveyed evil without nuance.

This is how Ana María Matute worked in 'Olvidado rey Gudú' and in many other stories through which she transmitted her particular vision of the world, wanting to preserve that look of childhood that should never be lost, being aware of the thousand ways through which we lose our innocence, insisting again and again on pointing the finger at violence and showing the traces it leaves in its wake. That is also why his language has something of the fantastic about it. Not even in his most realistic novels does he fail to pay attention to the magic of words; there is always a lyrical tone in the background that serves to create a necessary distance in the reader. She does not seek to hygienically distance the reader from the harshness of the situations, but rather to ensure that the charm of the plot does not prevent him from stopping to think. Ana María Matute always insisted that her thing was stories, legends, the medieval world, the love of adventure and the attraction of the unknown. Because she had to live in a hard time and she wanted to talk about the reality that surrounded her.