December 31, 1917–January 3, 2003

José María Gironella was a Spanish novelist, born in the Catalonian province of Gerona.

He is best known for his historical novel, The Cypresses Believe in God, for which he won the National Prize for Literature.

His other works include One Million Dead and Peace After War, which complete the trilogy begun with The Cypresses Believe in God, and Where the Soil Was Shallow, his debut novel for which he won the Nadal Prize.

Like the War he so effectively dramatized in literature, Gironella and his novels have largely been ignored, forgotten, or mischaracterized. May his place and the recovery of his work in the Cluny catalog aid in the reversing of that misfortune.