10 h 52 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What remains of a man when the office that gives him purpose no longer has a place for him?
In Benito Pérez Galdós's Miau, Ramón Villaamil waits for the Treasury to take him back. Proud, experienced and without a salary, he moves from office to office, seeking help from people with influence. In a Madrid where government posts depend on favour, knowing the work is not enough.
At home, his wife Doña Pura struggles to keep the family respectable. His daughter Abelarda carries private longings, while his thoughtful grandson Luis senses the trouble around him. Their cramped household depends on Villaamil's hope. Galdós brings dark comedy and tenderness to a wait that presses on everyone.
What you’ll discover
- Pride without a salary Follow a dismissed official whose sense of worth rests on getting his post back.
- A household under pressure Enter cramped rooms where family pride and the need to look respectable deepen the strain.
- The long search for favour Walk beside Villaamil through offices and visits, where influence matters more than experience.
- A child's quiet understanding Meet Luis, whose love for his grandfather brings tenderness to the family's anxious life.
- Madrid in close detail Discover streets, cafes, clothes and speech through Galdós's sharp eye for ordinary life.
Who will love it
For readers who love realist fiction, Spanish history, and stories of family pressure and quiet struggle. It also speaks to anyone who has known the shame of losing work.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A dismissed official who will not give up
- A household held together by his hope
- The visits, the favours and the endless wait
- A child who sees more than the grown-ups
- What the story is really about
- How Galdós tells it
Who’s who
- Ramón VillaamilA proud, dismissed Treasury official who lives for the day he will be given his post back.
- Doña PuraVillaamil's wife, sharp and extravagant, who cares deeply about keeping the household respectable.
- AbelardaVillaamil's daughter, a quiet and troubled young woman with private longings she cannot easily share.
- LuisVillaamil's young grandson, a thoughtful boy who loves his grandfather and senses the family's trouble.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 10 h 52 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Miau in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Miau
by Benito Pérez Galdós · 1888
A dismissed Treasury official in Madrid hopes to regain his post as his family's future hangs on his return.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Miau is a novel by Benito Pérez Galdós, published in 1888. It belongs to his series of contemporary novels about Madrid, written when Spain was ruled under the Restoration monarchy and when government jobs were handed out by favour.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A dismissed official who will not give up
At the centre of the story is Ramón Villaamil, a man in his later years who has spent a lifetime in the Treasury. He knows its rules, its accounts and its habits better than many who now sit above him. Yet he has been dismissed, and for a long time he has had no salary. In the language of the day he is a cesante, and he lives for the day when a new government will recall him.
Galdós shows that this waiting is not idle. Villaamil is proud of his professional skill and believes he has a right to his place. He studies the country's finances, thinks up plans for reform and rehearses what he would say if a minister would only receive him. His belief that he is an honest man, wronged by the system, keeps him upright.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Miau
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Miau by Galdós about?
It follows Ramón Villaamil, a dismissed Treasury official in Madrid who waits for reinstatement, and the family that lives under the strain of his unemployment, pride and shrinking hope.
What does the title Miau mean?
Miau is a cat's cry. In the novel it is a mocking nickname fastened on the family, and it shows how a community can wound people with a single word.
When was Miau written?
Galdós published it in 1888. It is a work of fiction, but it is based on the real world of Madrid's government offices and the job system of the Restoration.
The author
Benito Pérez Galdós
1843–1920 · Spanish realist novelist
Benito Pérez Galdós (1843–1920) was a Spanish novelist and playwright. He was born in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and moved to Madrid in 1862. He wrote Marianela (1878), Fortunata and Jacinta (1886–1887), and Miau (1888), as well as the historical novel series Episodios nacionales. He died in Madrid.
More like this
Free
Free
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Popular in classics
See all
Free
