Cry, Mother Spain - Hardcover

Salvayre, Lydie

3.58

1,257 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 085705449X ISBN 13: 9780857054494

Publisher: MacLehose Press, 2016

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Aged fifteen, as Franco's forces begin their murderous purges and cities across Spain rise up against the old order, Montse has never heard the word fascista before. In any case, the villagers say facha (the ch is a real Spanish ch, by the way, with a real spit).

Montse lives in a small village, high in the hills, where few people can read or write and fewer still ever leave. If everything goes according to her mother's plan, Montse will never leave either. She will become a good, humble maid for the local landowners, much�simas gracias, with every Sunday off to dance the jota in the church square.

But Montse's world is changing. Her brother Jos� has just returned from L�rida with a red and black scarf and a new, dangerous vocabulary and his words are beginning to open up new realms to his little sister. She might not understand half of what he says, but how can anyone become a maid in the Burgos family when their head is ringing with shouts of Revoluci�n, Comunidad and Libertad?

The war, it seems, has arrived in the nick of time.

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Review:

Impressive ... an effective account of a hideous time of brutal politics and the desperate compromises many made to make life possible (David Mills The Sunday Times)

The great originality of this novel ... is the blending of the universal and personal experiences of the Spanish Civil War (Sebastian Lapaque Figaro 2014-11-05)

An extraordinary book . . . very powerful (Eileen Battersby Irish Times 2017-03-15)

Lydie Salvayre orchestrates her story like a true maestro (J�r�me Garcin BibliObs 2014-09-09)

A turbulent, magnificent novel that shines a new light on the Spanish Civil War. It resonates with the power of a manifesto for modern times (Fran�ois Busnel Express 2014-11-13)

A seriously important novel ... The novel Pasolini would have written had he been the son of Spanish exiles (Josep Lambies Time Out Barcelona)

Lydie Salvayre has cultivated a resounding anger... Cry, Mother Spain is the novel and the tribute of an impassioned voice (Philippe Lan�on Lib�ration 2014-11-05)

Lydie Salvayre creates a dynamic harmony in a language that elevates grit, heroism and beauty (Jean Birnbaum Le Monde)

Lydie Salvayre has written a novel about the Spanish Civil War unlike any other. Her approach gives her story an astonishing power and a unique perspective (Mercedes Monmay ABC Cultural)

A magnificent novel. A brilliantly written family saga and a mesmerising study of memory and historical reconstruction (Fran G. Matute El Mundo)

Book Description:

A powerful account of the early days of the Spanish Civil War, seen through the eyes of a young girl.

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