- Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; 2nd Revised edition edition (25 Aug 1983)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140064737
- ISBN-13: 978-0140064735
- Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 13 x 1.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
422,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #85 in Books > Biography > Historical > Countries & Regions > Spain
- #90 in Books > Fiction > Poetry & Drama > Poetry > World > Spanish
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Product Description
At dawn on the 19th of August 1936 Spaniards murdered the man who most profoundly embodied the poetic spirit of their country. Federico Garcia Lorca was the victim of the passions that arose in Spain as the Church, the military and the bourgeoisie embarked on their reckless and brutal repression of "undesirables". For Lorca was not a political man; he embraced Spain - from its struggling leftist movement to its most conservative traditions - with a love that transcended politics. His "crime" was his antipathy to pomposity, conformity and intolerance. For years the Spanish government suppressed the truth about Lorca's death. In this recreation of the assassination, Ian Gibson redresses the wrong. Based on information only recently made available, this is an illumination not only of the death of a great poet, but of the atmosphere of Civil War Spain that allowed it to happen.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is basically a revised, more readable and more approachable English-language edition of Gibson's book about the Nationalist repression in Granada. This edition is subject to more revision and a more Lorca-based analysis of proceedings. This is no bad thing, Gibson does not pretend to be an academic historian but writes lucidly, engagingly and brilliantly about a brutal, controversial and mystified topic. For those wanting to delve briefly into one of the most whitewashed and misunderstood political murders in Spanish history - you need look no further than this.
Gibson starts the book with an outline of Granada as an historical-cultural area and about how Lorca fitted into it all. He then elucidates the basic politics of the Republic and local politics of Granada in easily understandable and approachable terms. Gibson readily argues against the revisionist wisdom of an apolitical Lorca and inserts him in the narrative of the Republic. He does occasionally simplify issues but not to the detriment of his overall argument or the tone of the book. The main section of the book then deals with the rising, repression and revenge that engulfed Granada - eventually resulting in the death of Lorca. This is the main weight of the book and Gibson reconstructs this tumultuous time through a great selection of primary evidence which paints a picture for the audience of life and death in Granada.
What makes this book great for the general reader is that Gibson leads you by the hand through all the controversies of the topic. Evidence and items are not left in the bibliography or footnotes alone, but incorporated and dealt with in the text itself. For instance, he discredits the arguments of Nationalist historians but explains WHY and HOW they are incorrect, scurrilous or downright fictitious. He meticulously - but not boringly - picks apart why he has constructed the sequence of events he has and backs it up to the reader with justification. He does not says it is the absolute truth, but suggests it is the most feasible with all the presentable evidence. This is even more interesting in the recent failed efforts to exhume his body and all the controversy surrounding the ruthless and systematic terror of the civil war.
I would strongly recommend this book to those with a passing interest in the topic of Lorca, the Spanish Civil War and the circumstances of his death. It is a short and easily readable book which is aware of its shortcomings but is excellent at constructing and conveying the intensity of the time. Importantly, it does not require prior reading nor deals with the - now enormous - historiographical literature on the civil war. Written in plain English and with easily digestible chapters, this narrative demonstrates everything right on research about the war, and everything wrong with the conduct and experiences of participants during it.
Gibson starts the book with an outline of Granada as an historical-cultural area and about how Lorca fitted into it all. He then elucidates the basic politics of the Republic and local politics of Granada in easily understandable and approachable terms. Gibson readily argues against the revisionist wisdom of an apolitical Lorca and inserts him in the narrative of the Republic. He does occasionally simplify issues but not to the detriment of his overall argument or the tone of the book. The main section of the book then deals with the rising, repression and revenge that engulfed Granada - eventually resulting in the death of Lorca. This is the main weight of the book and Gibson reconstructs this tumultuous time through a great selection of primary evidence which paints a picture for the audience of life and death in Granada.
What makes this book great for the general reader is that Gibson leads you by the hand through all the controversies of the topic. Evidence and items are not left in the bibliography or footnotes alone, but incorporated and dealt with in the text itself. For instance, he discredits the arguments of Nationalist historians but explains WHY and HOW they are incorrect, scurrilous or downright fictitious. He meticulously - but not boringly - picks apart why he has constructed the sequence of events he has and backs it up to the reader with justification. He does not says it is the absolute truth, but suggests it is the most feasible with all the presentable evidence. This is even more interesting in the recent failed efforts to exhume his body and all the controversy surrounding the ruthless and systematic terror of the civil war.
I would strongly recommend this book to those with a passing interest in the topic of Lorca, the Spanish Civil War and the circumstances of his death. It is a short and easily readable book which is aware of its shortcomings but is excellent at constructing and conveying the intensity of the time. Importantly, it does not require prior reading nor deals with the - now enormous - historiographical literature on the civil war. Written in plain English and with easily digestible chapters, this narrative demonstrates everything right on research about the war, and everything wrong with the conduct and experiences of participants during it.
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