Guernica is a wonderful debut telling the story of two families set before and during the Spanish Civil War, revolving around the bombing of Guernica.
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'A heart-rending yet life-affirming story... not dissimilar to Louis de Bernières'
-- Daily Mail
'I highly recommend this exceptional novel about one of the world's great tragedies.'
-- Editor's Choice, Historical Novels Review
-- Daily Mail
'I highly recommend this exceptional novel about one of the world's great tragedies.'
-- Editor's Choice, Historical Novels Review
Book Description
In 1935, Miguel Navarro finds himself in conflict with the Spanish Civil Guard, so he flees the Basque fishing village of Lekeitio to make a new start in Guernica, the centre of Basque culture and tradition. In the midst of this isolated bastion of democratic values, Miguel finds more than a new life – he finds someone to live for. Miren Ansotegui is the charismatic and graceful dancer who he meets there, and the two discover a love they believe nothing can destroy . . . History and fiction merge seamlessly in this beautiful novel about the resilience of family, love, and tradition in the face of hardship. The bombing of Guernica was a devastating experiment in total warfare by the German Luftwaffe in the run-up to the Second World War. For the Basques, it was an attack on the soul of their nation; for the world, it was an unprecedented crime against humanity. Dave boling reintroduces the event and paints his own picture of a people so strong, vibrant, and proud that they are willing to do whatever it takes to protect their values, their country, and their loved ones. 'Boling breathes life into a flash point in history and creates an endearing and tragic drama that feels relevant today. Guernica is an ambitious debut by a writer whose daring imagination and seamless prose transports us to an extraordinary time and place' Jim Lynch, author of The Highest Tide '[A]mbitious . . . A moving tale of courage and resilience that celebrates the history of an embattled culture . . . This is a very good novel indeed—and a crucial reminder that genocidal folly is never as far away from us as we might wish' Kirkus
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
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I hadn't heard about the German bombing of the small Spanish town Guernica in the late 1930s, so was interested in the historical detail of this novel as much as the story itself. I found myself desperate to finish it and find out 'what happens next' even though I knew the ending.
Boling creates an environment and characters so rich and real that I was desperate to read more but at the same time dreading turning the page, as I knew the friends I had made and their happiness was all too soon going to be shattered. While the bombing is based on fact, Boling's characters are fictional; however it is easy to believe that people like Miguel, Miren, Justo and Alaia existed. Boling has an ear for dialogue and an eye for detail, so that you can smell the soaps Alaia makes, see Miguel and Miren dance at their wedding and, with sickening alcarity, taste the destruction as the bombs hit the town.
Picasso also features in the book, as he drew a huge canvas following the bombing, and Boling's insight into his mind, and indeed into the minds of all his characters, is breathakingly intuitive. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Thank you Mr Boling for teaching me so much about something I knew nothing about and for giving me an extraordinary reading experience.
Boling creates an environment and characters so rich and real that I was desperate to read more but at the same time dreading turning the page, as I knew the friends I had made and their happiness was all too soon going to be shattered. While the bombing is based on fact, Boling's characters are fictional; however it is easy to believe that people like Miguel, Miren, Justo and Alaia existed. Boling has an ear for dialogue and an eye for detail, so that you can smell the soaps Alaia makes, see Miguel and Miren dance at their wedding and, with sickening alcarity, taste the destruction as the bombs hit the town.
Picasso also features in the book, as he drew a huge canvas following the bombing, and Boling's insight into his mind, and indeed into the minds of all his characters, is breathakingly intuitive. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Thank you Mr Boling for teaching me so much about something I knew nothing about and for giving me an extraordinary reading experience.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By Arheddis Varkenjaab
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I have a great love of the Basque country, and I visit often and know Guernica and the surrounding area fairly well, so I was really looking forward to reading this.
Unfortunatly I was disappointed. It's hard to put a finger on quite what is wrong with this book, but I think the main problem is it doesn't feel Basque. It feels like, well, it feels like what it is- an american's idea of the Basque country, and it feels wrong. The story is littered with jarring americanisims (cookies? strollers? I don't think so) and has it almost coming across as a disney tale. The story meanders along, with page after page of anecdotes, none of which seem to join together leaving you waiting perversely for the bombing you know is on the way. I had no connection with any of the painfully simplistic characters and the writing was borderline workmanlike so that even the bombing of Guerncia left me unmoved. Simple errors, like calling the Basque region 'Pays Basque' (the french name in spain?) rather than the Basque name of Euskal Herria stood out particularly badly.
This isn't a desperately bad book, and maybe as I know the basque area well it leaves me looking for more than I should, but there's a missed opportunity here for an good read. Gora Euskal Herria, but this story should be better told than this.
Unfortunatly I was disappointed. It's hard to put a finger on quite what is wrong with this book, but I think the main problem is it doesn't feel Basque. It feels like, well, it feels like what it is- an american's idea of the Basque country, and it feels wrong. The story is littered with jarring americanisims (cookies? strollers? I don't think so) and has it almost coming across as a disney tale. The story meanders along, with page after page of anecdotes, none of which seem to join together leaving you waiting perversely for the bombing you know is on the way. I had no connection with any of the painfully simplistic characters and the writing was borderline workmanlike so that even the bombing of Guerncia left me unmoved. Simple errors, like calling the Basque region 'Pays Basque' (the french name in spain?) rather than the Basque name of Euskal Herria stood out particularly badly.
This isn't a desperately bad book, and maybe as I know the basque area well it leaves me looking for more than I should, but there's a missed opportunity here for an good read. Gora Euskal Herria, but this story should be better told than this.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By pjr
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Stories which interweave real events can be a little hit and miss. Dave Boling's assertion is that this book should tell the story of the destruction of Geurnica as most people, like he himself, only know the story through the apocalyptic canvass of Picasso. Boling weaves Picasso into this deftly told story which centres on the lives of three brothers. The Picasso sub-plot is a bold addition which, like just about everything else here, he pulls off with aplomb.
From the very start this debut really does usher in someone who is a natural storyteller. His ear for characters is good and the descriptive passages evoke the wild Spanish landscape well. He moves the narrative forward easily and mixes the plot's highs and lows deftly.
I'm not going to give an in depth plot analysis because it's something people should really find for themselves. Love, death, politics, civil war, and rural Spanish family life all come together in a wonderful mix. Boling has opened his literary account with serious deposit which is worth investing your time in.
From the very start this debut really does usher in someone who is a natural storyteller. His ear for characters is good and the descriptive passages evoke the wild Spanish landscape well. He moves the narrative forward easily and mixes the plot's highs and lows deftly.
I'm not going to give an in depth plot analysis because it's something people should really find for themselves. Love, death, politics, civil war, and rural Spanish family life all come together in a wonderful mix. Boling has opened his literary account with serious deposit which is worth investing your time in.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dry and slow
My title pretty much sums up this book unfortunately. The back cover compares it to Captain Corelli's Mandolin and that is something the publishers really should not have done. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Gogol
3.0 out of 5 stars
I read this a month ago....
I've come to the Amazon website after searching this title that I borrowed from the library a month or so ago. I couldn't remember the story and wanted to refresh my memory.... Read more
Published on 21 April 2011 by Demelza
3.0 out of 5 stars
Slow to start, but worth reading
To my shame, I came to this text largely ignorant of the history of Guernica, and the book certainly suceeded in not only instilling in me a sense of the history, but also bringing... Read more
Published on 5 Jan 2011 by Anthelm
1.0 out of 5 stars
So bad I couldn't finish it
Possibly one of the worst books I have read. I was a big fan of Captain Corelli's Mandolin and bought this book with the hope that I might relive another wonderful reading... Read more
Published on 9 Dec 2009 by Victoria Library IQ
3.0 out of 5 stars
a tragic subject in a terrifying era - but doesn't quite pull it off
Of course, those who know Picasso's spine-tingling painting of the Nazi atrocity will be all too aware of the horrors that occurred at Guernica. Read more
Published on 24 Nov 2009 by Mark Meynell
3.0 out of 5 stars
A tourist's view of Spain's bloody past
There's no faulting the ambition or sincerity of Dave Boling's debut novel, but as other reviewers have pointed out, it falls down badly in one crucial respect - it feels more... Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2009 by Trevor Willsmer
4.0 out of 5 stars
A part of history that only needs its name....
Any student of 20th century history will know the name of Guernica. It is one of the world's greatest tragedies, during a war that saw neighbour fight neighbour and splits the... Read more
Published on 21 Oct 2009 by J. E. M. Kneale
1.0 out of 5 stars
Boling makes it hard to care
Dave Boling's Guernica is not a small book and yet its problem seems to be that the author is unable to give the novel space to breath. Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2009 by Stephen Newton
3.0 out of 5 stars
Civil War
In 1937 the German's bombed the Basque town of Guernica to test their techniques and this novel follows four generations of a Basque family before, during and after that... Read more
Published on 17 Sep 2009 by IWFIcon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant! Colourful! Informative! I loved it!
I was reading this when we went up to the Natural History Museum and caught a poster advertising it. Read more
Published on 14 July 2009 by Mr. Nadim Bakhshov
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