The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Benet, Juan
(bnet´) (KEY) , 192793, Spanish novelist and essayist. He earned a degree in civil engineering and worked as a highway engineer before publishing (1961) his first work, Nunca llegarás a nada [youll never amount to anything]. He gained major success in 1967 with his novel, Volverás a Región [you will return to Región], set in a mythical area of Spain called Región. He returned to this setting in A Meditation (1969, tr. 1983); Benet received critical acclaim for his experimental and complex style. Other works include En el estado [in the state] (1977).