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Product Description
Review
‘At last – a beach book with a heart’
(Observer )'A compelling story that has rarely left the bestseller list this year and deservedly so'
(Sunday Express ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.Product Description
The mesmerising new novel from the author of the smash hit The Island
Beneath the majestic towers of the
Seventy years earlier, the café is home to the close-knit Ramírez family. In 1936, an army coup led by Franco shatters the country's fragile peace, and in the heart of
Captivating and deeply moving, Victoria Hislop's second novel is as inspiring as her international bestselling debut, The Island.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
52 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Before launching into the reviews set out below, please beware that several give crucial parts of the plot away without warning!
41 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was lent this book by a friend and I have to say that initially I felt it wasn't my type of book - I usually read a lot of detective books. However, I found myself completely drawn into the story. I won't repeat the story as you can read the synopsis from the book and others have also given the gist of the book (although I feel not to the book's advantage).
I live in Spain and the descriptions of modern Granada and Andalucia made me yearn for the image of Spain that until quite recently it used to be - white-washed buildings, proud Spanish, gentle pace of life. When the author then took the readers back in time to the events around the Spanish Civil war, I couldn't believe how angry I became at the completely senseless waste of human life. I knew very little about the war and this book was my catalyst for finding out more about it.
I have never read a book which has stirred my emotions in such a way as this one, and I would recommend it to anyone. In fact another friend now has the book and she feels the same pull of the book too. So perhaps its because we are in Spain and we are more empathic to the content than others, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and could't put it down.
I live in Spain and the descriptions of modern Granada and Andalucia made me yearn for the image of Spain that until quite recently it used to be - white-washed buildings, proud Spanish, gentle pace of life. When the author then took the readers back in time to the events around the Spanish Civil war, I couldn't believe how angry I became at the completely senseless waste of human life. I knew very little about the war and this book was my catalyst for finding out more about it.
I have never read a book which has stirred my emotions in such a way as this one, and I would recommend it to anyone. In fact another friend now has the book and she feels the same pull of the book too. So perhaps its because we are in Spain and we are more empathic to the content than others, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and could't put it down.
44 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The first 150-pages of this novel are fairly mundane chick-lit - or rather hen-lit -stuff; in 2001 two female friends, Sonia and Maggie, approaching middle age, go off to Granada for a dance course.
The descriptions of the dance classes and the routines they have to follow are interesting at first but for me they soon begun to pall. Maggie finds a Spanish lover and Sonia makes friends with an elderly waiter who starts to tell her about the Spanish Civil War and its effect on people he knew.
When we switch to the waiter's narration the tone darkens. Many of the scenes described during the war are harrowing and I can understand why someone who bought this book as a light beach read might be disappointed with it.
Victoria Hislop has researched the subject and is able to describe situations vividly. I found this war section of the book, if not exactly enjoyable, informative; for example, I was shocked at the treatment Spanish refugees received when they fled to France.
Where I felt the book went wrong was having this framework of starting the book in the 21st Century, going back to the period of the Spanish Civil War, and then returning to Sonia in an attempt to tie the two stories together. The link between Sonia and the waiter's war narrative - which I won't reveal - is contrived and failed to suspend disbelief. I feel it would have been far better to have set the novel entirely around the period of the Civil War and its immediate aftermath.
The descriptions of the dance classes and the routines they have to follow are interesting at first but for me they soon begun to pall. Maggie finds a Spanish lover and Sonia makes friends with an elderly waiter who starts to tell her about the Spanish Civil War and its effect on people he knew.
When we switch to the waiter's narration the tone darkens. Many of the scenes described during the war are harrowing and I can understand why someone who bought this book as a light beach read might be disappointed with it.
Victoria Hislop has researched the subject and is able to describe situations vividly. I found this war section of the book, if not exactly enjoyable, informative; for example, I was shocked at the treatment Spanish refugees received when they fled to France.
Where I felt the book went wrong was having this framework of starting the book in the 21st Century, going back to the period of the Spanish Civil War, and then returning to Sonia in an attempt to tie the two stories together. The link between Sonia and the waiter's war narrative - which I won't reveal - is contrived and failed to suspend disbelief. I feel it would have been far better to have set the novel entirely around the period of the Civil War and its immediate aftermath.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Spanish Civil War from a human perspective
I enjoyed the main part of this book - the part about the Spanish Civil War and the family torn apart by it. Read more
Published 11 days ago by gypsyapple
can't get past the first few chapters
Living in Andalucía and knowing quite a lot about the Civil War here, I was initially very interested in reading this book. Read more
Published 24 days ago by casita
Flamenco, Civil War and Romance
I bought this book out of a general interest in Spanish culture, and my interest in the Spanish Civil War having been awakened by Elena Moya Perreira's excellent 'The Olive Groves... Read more
Published 29 days ago by Kate Hopkins
A dull emotionless tale
I agree with the other poor reviews. The link between the dull modern-day story and the civil war story is clumsy. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Cobblers
BOOK REVIEW - Victoria Hislop - The Return - Just had to pass this on!
This was my Easter bank holiday read and I have got to say is easily in the top 5 of any book I have read. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Caroline P
The Return
Enjoyed this book, although it is rather depressing in places. I preferred 'The Island'which was superb and I was a little disappointed that this book was not quite so... Read more
Published 1 month ago by maryloo
Disappointing!
Having read 'The Island' with interest - but with reservations about Mrs Hislop's skill as a novelist - I was very disappointed in 'The Return'. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Anne Lovell
Brilliant
Another brilliant novel by Victoria Hislop. Beautiful story again, but what I love is the fact you are also learning history.
Published 2 months ago by james
The Return
Prompt efficient service.
A good read - I usually only read one chapter each night at bed time; but on this one I did not want to put the book down.
A good read - I usually only read one chapter each night at bed time; but on this one I did not want to put the book down.
Published 3 months ago by A. D. Johnston
an amazing read
Having read The Island by Victoria Hislop, which was excellent, I bought this book too. It is an excellent read about the Spanish Civil War but also entwining the story of a family... Read more
Published 3 months ago by avid traveller
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