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Critics' Opinion:
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First Published:
Oct 2019, 512 pages
Paperback:
Sep 2020, 512 pages
Book Reviewed by:
Catherine M Andronik
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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray comes a gripping, unforgettable portrait of love, silence, and secrets amidst a Spanish dictatorship.
Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists and foreign businessmen flood into the country under the welcoming guise of sunshine and wine. Among them is eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson, the son of a Texas oil tycoon, who arrives in Madrid with his parents hoping to connect with the country of his mother's birth through the lens of his camera. Photography--and fate--introduce him to Ana, whose family's interweaving obstacles reveal the lingering grasp of the Spanish Civil War--as well as chilling definitions of fortune and fear. Daniel's photographs leave him with uncomfortable questions amidst shadows of danger. He is backed into a corner of decisions to protect those he loves. Lives and hearts collide, revealing an incredibly dark side to the sunny Spanish city.
Master storyteller Ruta Sepetys once again shines light into one of history's darkest corners in this epic, heart-wrenching novel about identity, unforgettable love, repercussions of war, and the hidden violence of silence--inspired by the true post-war struggles of Spain.
Includes vintage media interstitials, oral history commentary, photos, and more.
Chapter 1
They stand in line for blood.
June's early sun blooms across a string of women waiting patiently at el matadero. Fans snap open and flutter, replying to Madrid's warmth and the scent of open flesh wafting from the slaughterhouse.
The blood will be used for morcilla, blood sausage. It must be measured with care. Too much blood and the sausage is not firm. Too little and the sausage crumbles like dry earth.
Rafael wipes the blade on his apron, his mind miles from morcilla. He turns slowly from the line of customers and puts his face to the sky.
In his mind it is Sunday. The hands of the clock touch six.
It is time.
The trumpet sounds and the march of the pasodoble rolls through the arena.
Rafael steps onto the sand, into the sun.
He is ready to meet Fear.
In the center box of the bullring sits Spain's dictator, Generalísimo Francisco Franco. They call him El Caudillo — leader of armies, hero by the grace of God. Franco looks down to the ring. Their eyes meet.
You don't ...
Ruta Sepetys is an author unafraid of tackling disturbing but little-known episodes in history, from Lithuanian exiles under Stalin, to the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy. Her exploration into the effects on children and teens of the Spanish Civil War and the decades-long reign of Francisco Franco will be a welcome addition for educators in search of an entertaining and accessible way to explain something so nearly inexplicable...continued
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(Reviewed by Catherine M Andronik).
In The Fountains of Silence, Daniel is a budding photojournalist who admires the work of Robert Capa. Capa, born Endre Erno Friedmann in Hungary, experienced first-hand the rise of Hitler and Nazism. After studying photography in Paris and meeting kindred spirit Gerda Pohorylle (better known by her pseudonym Gerda Taro), he emigrated to the United States and changed his name to Robert Capa. For a while, Capa and Taro produced photographs together under his name, but Taro eventually wanted individual credit for her work. In his short lifetime (he died at age 40), Capa revolutionized wartime photography. He was the only civilian photographer at Omaha Beach on D-Day; some of the most iconic pictures of that event were shot by him, and he...
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