Miguel Delibes, Prolific Spanish Writer, Dies at 89

From the NYT:

"The last novel Mr. Delibes wrote before he was operated on for colon cancer in 1998 — “El Hereje” (“The Heretic”) — is “the one he wanted to be remembered by,” Ms. Sili�said.

He explained why in the prologue of an anthology of his work published after the operation. “The writer Miguel Delibes died on the operation table in Madrid on May 21, 1998,” he wrote. “That is, his last literary years were worthless. The surgeons stopped the cancer from killing me, but they couldn’t stop it from affecting me gravely. It didn’t kill me, but it rendered me useless to work for the rest of my life. Who was the victor?”"