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The Soldiers of Salamis
 
 
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The Soldiers of Salamis (Hardcover)

by Javier Cercas (Author), Anne McLean (Translator)
3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £14.99
Price: £10.49 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (5 May 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0747563152
  • ISBN-13: 978-0747563150
  • Product Dimensions: 21 x 14.8 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 173,241 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

SUSAN SONTAG
'With irresistible directness and delicacy, Javier Cercas engages in a quick-witted, tender quest for truth...'

Alberto Manguel
'Ceras has succeeded, with one perfectly crafted book, in single-handedly redeeming the epic genre.'

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars "There are no heroes in peacetime...no living heroes.", 21 Mar 2004
By Mary Whipple (New England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Soldiers of Salamis (Hardcover)
In this unusual story of the Spanish Civil War, author Cercas experiments with the voice of his main character and with the form of this novel, which he describes as "a compressed tale except with real characters and situations, like a true tale." The unnamed speaker, a contemporary journalist in his forties, is investigating the story of Rafael Sanchez Mazas, a "good, not great" writer of the 1930s, who, in the final days of the Civil War (1936 - 1939) escaped a firing squad and lived to play a role in Franco's Nationalist government. The speaker believes that "forest friends" may have helped Sanchez Mazas survive the end-of-the-war turmoil, and he becomes obsessed with locating them, identifying the Popular front soldier who chose not to reveal Sanchez Mazas's whereabouts, and learning why they behaved as they did. As he investigates the story of Sanchez Mazas and the complex political alliances of the Civil War, the speaker realizes that he actually knows very little about this war, "not much more than I know about the battle of Salamis."

The speaker, who is obviously Javier Cercas himself, soon begins to expand the scope of his tale, investigating more than the verifiable facts about Sanchez Mazas and musing philosophically about the passage of time, the transcience of youth, the dubious legacy of war, and the nature of heroes. Wartime heroes live only as long as their friends remember them, and lives and memories are short: one must seize the moment and dance a paso doble in the time available.

The complex history of the Spanish Civil War in the first part of the novel is slow, full of unfamiliar names, places, and political alliances, but as the story of Sanchez Mazas unfolds, the reader gradually warms to the speaker's quest to learn everything he can about the incident in the forest. The scenes near the end of the book, set in a nursing home, are full of touching and emotional realizations, conveying powerful, universal messages about war and heroes from one generation to another (and to the reader) without being didactic. Cercas's style is honest and full of self-mockery, though some readers may be put off by his syntactically complex sentences, which are sometimes a page long. Focusing on what it means to be a hero, the novel is a tour de force in which the reader learns as much about the creative process of author Cercas as he does about the almost forgotten author Sanchez Mazas. Mary Whipple

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19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstandingly written, outstandingly constructed, 26 April 2004
By Barton Keyes "barton keyes" (England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
I hesitate to use the words "probably the best book I have ever read" butthis is probably one of the best books I have ever read. It is outstandingin every aspect -- use of language, construction, pace, insight. I have noway of ascertaining if the original Spanish is as good as the translationbut I cannot believe that such a superlative book was not writtensuperlatively well to begin with.
If you think, as I did, that the middle section drags slightly - stickwith it. There is a very good reason that is explained soon into the thirdand final part. You will be well rewarded if you do so.
Occasionally you read a book where the final sentence makes the hair onthe back of your neck stand up. The final page of Soldiers of Salamis didthat for me.
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12 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Soldiers of Salamis, 16 Jun 2003
A moving story which ultimately shows that history can correct itself and that the true heroes of the hour receive recognition, all be it posthumously. Cercas novel highlights the importance the Spanish Civil war played in raising awareness of the evils and blind hatred generated by extreme fascism and communism in 20th century Europe. Miralles and his comrades deserve recognition and respect for the part they played in ensuring the liberties which we take for granted today.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars When is a novel not a novel?
I question whether 'Soldiers of Salamis' is actually a novel. Essentially it is an investigation - a factual account of the research into an historic event by a disillusioned... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Michael J. Hunt

3.0 out of 5 stars A novel that blurs fact and fiction
Soldiers of Salamis is one of those strange novels which blurs fact and fiction, so that the reader is never quite sure what is true and what is not. Read more
Published on 10 Jul 2007 by kimbofo

3.0 out of 5 stars Soldiers of Salamis
Although this is a good and thoroughly absorbing book, Cercas' political bias is unfortunate. Predictably, by the end, the Falangist writer is portrayed as the amoral coward,... Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2004 by Mr. A. Burkhardt

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