Nivola is a term created by Miguel de Unamuno to refer to his works that contrasted with the realism prevalent in Spanish novels during the early 20th century.
Since his works were not fully novels, or "novelas" in Spanish, Unamuno coined a new word, "nivolas", to describe them.
He oído también contar de un arquitecto arqueólogo que pretendía derribar una basílica del siglo X, y no restaurarla, sino hacerla de nuevo como debió haber sido hecha y no como se hizo.
Así se impusieron Luzbel y Satanás, primero, y Adán y Eva, después, a Jehová.
Los demás se atuvieron, por pereza mental, a mi diabólica invención de la nivola.
What he didn't realize was that basilicas make themselves, transcending any plans thought out in advance, using the very workers' hands as their tools in self-creation.
This idea, to call it a nivola, which in truth is not truly mine, as I point out in the text – it was another ingenious trick to intrigue the critics.
Niebla is the story of Augusto Pérez, a single man, philosophical and melancholy, who dedicates his time to long walks, and reflection, with his dog Orfeo.
The most famous passage of the novel occurs towards the end when the principal character decides to confront the real author, Miguel de Unamuno, to ask for advice about his destiny.
Arguably a nivola, San Manuel Bueno, mártir contains greater psychological development and narrative description than the other works, and is generally considered Unamuno's masterpiece.