Miaow

by Benito Perez Galdos · 2025

Miaow is a tragicomic, Dickensian novel by Benito Pérez Galdós that follows Ramón Villaamil, a lifelong civil servant in Madrid’s Ministry of the Treasury. A sudden change of government leaves him jobless just two months shy of his pension, forcing him into endless petitions and favors. At home his wife, daughter and sister‑in‑law—derisively called “the Miaows” for their cat‑like habits—scorn his failures, while his young grandson Luis remains his only comfort. When Luis’s disgraced father, Víctor Cadalso, returns with false promises of financial rescue, Villaamil must decide whether to trust a man whose motives threaten to ruin the family. The novel satirises 19th‑century Spanish middle‑class life, bureaucracy and corruption, blending scathing social critique with comic absurdity.