{"id":156257,"date":"2026-06-16T09:00:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T07:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/?p=156257"},"modified":"2026-06-10T09:36:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T07:36:31","slug":"blai-bonet-in-the-magic-mountain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/blai-bonet-in-the-magic-mountain\/","title":{"rendered":"Blai Bonet in the Magic Mountain"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"EduardoThis year marks the centenary of Blai Bonet\u2019s birth. A hundred years already? It is hard to imagine that so much time has passed, because Blai Bonet has never truly left our collective imagination.<\/p>\n

Not long ago, returning from a walk through the Pastoritx estate, I saw in the distance the silhouette of the Joan March hospital or, as our parents used to call it, the Caubet Sanatorium. It was an August day and it had just rained \u2014one of those typical mid-summer ruixades<\/em>\u2014 and suddenly I saw that the fields were full of flowering thistles.<\/p>\n

Then I remembered that the novel El mar<\/em>, the first published by the writer from Santany\u00ed, ended with a reference to those very same flowering thistles: \u201cBeside the road, the thistles open their purple flower, their white flower,\u201d wrote Blai Bonet at the end of his novel, published in 1958, when the young priest attending to the sick leaves the sanatorium on his bicycle, remembering the poor adolescents who remain up there, in that beautiful building with white walls, subjected to the passion of illness, death and the desperate search for God.<\/p>\n

Blai Bonet knew that landscape of Bunyola well, because he had been admitted to the Caubet Sanatorium as a tubercular teenager fresh out of the seminary, in the 1940s. He said he had had a wonderful time in the sanatorium \u2014as he put it in a letter he sent to his friend Camilo Jos\u00e9 Cela\u2014 but it is hard to imagine that he had such a wonderful time when we read El mar<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Everything in the novel is steeped in sex, violence and an obsession with death. And it is impossible to read it without hearing the sinister screech of the stretcher on which the poor adolescents are taken to the fateful room number 13, the room of the dying, from which no one ever returns.<\/p>\n

Today, the sanatorium is no longer a tuberculosis hospital, but is dedicated to oncology and palliative care. Yet the patients who contemplate the gentle Mallorcan landscape from its galleries are still there. And the flowering thistles are still there.<\/p>\n

And Blai Bonet, with his novels, poems, reflections and diary pages, is still there too. Or rather, he is still here, there and everywhere. Because we cannot understand Mallorca without the work of Blai Bonet. And we cannot understand ourselves without the work of Blai Bonet.<\/p>\n

\u201cHappiness is like mirrors: it only reflects images, never reality,\u201d poor Manuel Tur thinks at one point, one of the sick adolescents hospitalised in Caubet who, in some way, symbolises the spiritual torments experienced by Blai Bonet himself.<\/p>\n

As a child, Blai lived through the horrors of the Spanish Civil War in Santany\u00ed. Later he went to Barcelona and tried to make his way in literature, but he did not succeed. So he returned to Santany\u00ed and shut himself away at home with his mother, his round table with a heater underneath, and his prodigious imagination.<\/p>\n

And there he wrote an artistic body of work that remains the finest mirror in which we can contemplate ourselves and understand who we are.<\/p>\n

\"Mallorca<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year marks the centenary of Blai Bonet\u2019s birth. A […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1609,1512],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eduardo-jorda-en","category-opinion-en"],"yoast_head":"\nBlai Bonet in the Magic Mountain, by Eduardo Jord\u00e1 - Mallorca Global Mag<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Eduardo Jord\u00e1 remembers Blai Bonet on the centenary of his birth through El mar, the Caubet Sanatorium and Mallorca\u2019s literary landscape.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blai Bonet in the Magic Mountain, by Eduardo Jord\u00e1 - Mallorca Global Mag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Eduardo Jord\u00e1 remembers Blai Bonet on the centenary of his birth through El mar, the Caubet Sanatorium and Mallorca\u2019s literary landscape.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mallorca Global Mag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-16T07:00:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/EDUARDO-JORDA.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"320\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"202\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mallorca Global Mag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mallorca Global Mag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/\",\"name\":\"Blai Bonet in the Magic Mountain, by Eduardo Jord\u00e1 - Mallorca Global Mag\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/EDUARDO-JORDA.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-16T07:00:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/#\/schema\/person\/2e28dec0e3f75f19d4f9e9b7f8ff76bd\"},\"description\":\"Eduardo Jord\u00e1 remembers Blai Bonet on the centenary of his birth through El mar, the Caubet Sanatorium and Mallorca\u2019s literary landscape.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/EDUARDO-JORDA.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/EDUARDO-JORDA.jpg\",\"width\":320,\"height\":202,\"caption\":\"Eduardo Jord\u00e1\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Portada\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blai Bonet in the Magic Mountain\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/\",\"name\":\"Mallorca Global Mag\",\"description\":\"Revista de informaci\u00f3n general de Mallorca\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/#\/schema\/person\/2e28dec0e3f75f19d4f9e9b7f8ff76bd\",\"name\":\"Mallorca Global Mag\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6bc030d908f6ce901c32a088ae011f1091d5c1bbe0662d71526418b35ab10ad4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6bc030d908f6ce901c32a088ae011f1091d5c1bbe0662d71526418b35ab10ad4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mallorca Global Mag\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/wp-admin\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/author\/joseiglesias\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Blai Bonet in the Magic Mountain, by Eduardo Jord\u00e1 - Mallorca Global Mag","description":"Eduardo Jord\u00e1 remembers Blai Bonet on the centenary of his birth through El mar, the Caubet Sanatorium and Mallorca\u2019s literary landscape.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Blai Bonet in the Magic Mountain, by Eduardo Jord\u00e1 - Mallorca Global Mag","og_description":"Eduardo Jord\u00e1 remembers Blai Bonet on the centenary of his birth through El mar, the Caubet Sanatorium and Mallorca\u2019s literary landscape.","og_url":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/","og_site_name":"Mallorca Global Mag","article_published_time":"2026-06-16T07:00:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":320,"height":202,"url":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/EDUARDO-JORDA.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mallorca Global Mag","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mallorca Global Mag","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/","url":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/","name":"Blai Bonet in the Magic Mountain, by Eduardo Jord\u00e1 - Mallorca Global Mag","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/EDUARDO-JORDA.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-16T07:00:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/#\/schema\/person\/2e28dec0e3f75f19d4f9e9b7f8ff76bd"},"description":"Eduardo Jord\u00e1 remembers Blai Bonet on the centenary of his birth through El mar, the Caubet Sanatorium and Mallorca\u2019s literary landscape.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/EDUARDO-JORDA.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/EDUARDO-JORDA.jpg","width":320,"height":202,"caption":"Eduardo Jord\u00e1"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/blai-bonet-en-la-montana-magica\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Portada","item":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blai Bonet in the Magic Mountain"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/","name":"Mallorca Global Mag","description":"Revista de informaci\u00f3n general de Mallorca","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/#\/schema\/person\/2e28dec0e3f75f19d4f9e9b7f8ff76bd","name":"Mallorca Global Mag","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6bc030d908f6ce901c32a088ae011f1091d5c1bbe0662d71526418b35ab10ad4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6bc030d908f6ce901c32a088ae011f1091d5c1bbe0662d71526418b35ab10ad4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mallorca Global Mag"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/wp-admin\/"],"url":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/author\/joseiglesias\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156258,"href":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156257\/revisions\/156258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}