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Victoria Hislop

The Return: The 'captivating and deeply moving' Number One bestseller Paperback – 16 April 2009

by Victoria Hislop (Author)

2,639 ratings

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An atmospheric, vibrant and moving tale of pain and passion at the heart of war-torn Spain, from Victoria Hislop, the million-copy bestselling author of THE ISLAND.

Beneath the majestic towers of the Alhambra, Granada's cobbled streets resonate with music and secrets. Sonia Cameron knows nothing of the city's shocking past; she is here to dance. But in a quiet café, a chance conversation and an intriguing collection of old photographs draw her into the extraordinary tale of Spain's devastating civil war.

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 Granada the family witnesses the worst atrocities of conflict. Divided by politics and tragedy, everyone must take a side, fighting a personal battle as Spain rips itself apart.

Print length

592 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Headline Review
Publication date

16 April 2009
Dimensions

13.2 x 3.9 x 19.6 cm
ISBN-10

9780755332953
ISBN-13

978-0755332953
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From the Publisher

Product description

Review

'A well-researched and meaty follow-up to The Island' ― The Times

'THE RETURN may be a beach book, but it goes inland and rummages around in the cellars' ― The Times

'Aims to open the eyes, and tug the heartstrings, of readers... Hislop deserves a medal for opening a breach into the holiday beach bag' ― Independent

'Like a literary Nigella, she whips up a cracking historical romance with a dash of family secrets and a splash of female self-discovery' ― Time Out

'Meticulously researched historical narrative and imaginative storytelling' ― Telegraph

'Powerful stuff' ― Daily Mail

'Excellent' ― Sunday Telegraph

Book Description

An atmospheric, vibrant and moving tale of pain and passion at the heart of war-torn Spain, from the million-copy bestselling author of The Island and The Thread.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0755332954
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Headline Review; 1st. Paperback Edition (16 April 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 592 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780755332953
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0755332953
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.2 x 3.9 x 19.6 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 5,501 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 1,473 in Historical Fiction (Books)
- 2,016 in Women Writers & Fiction
- 2,927 in Contemporary Fiction (Books)

Customer reviews:
2,639 ratings

About the author

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Victoria Hislop

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Victoria Hislop is the international bestselling author of The Island and The Return. In the United Kingdom, she writes travel features for The Sunday Telegraph, The Mail on Sunday, House & Garden, and Woman & Home. The Island sold over a million copies in the UK and has been translated into 24 languages. Victoria’s second novel, The Return, has been published in more than a dozen languages. She lives in Kent, with her husband Ian and their two children.

Customer reviews

5 star		63%
4 star		23%
3 star		9%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

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AMC

Captivating and deeply moving

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 July 2022

Verified Purchase

My daughter and wife thought that it was a wonderful book

Helpful

SWL Strickland

Failed to keep my interest

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 August 2022

Verified Purchase

Not up to standard, biased history

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Judith M Martin

A really good story within a story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 April 2022

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed this book. The middle, historical part was excellent, factually and historically interesting and engaging. I wasn't so bothered about the more modern day characters or story that wrapped around it, but they enabled the historical story to be told and to have meaning.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 January 2022

Verified Purchase

Enjoyed reading about the Spanish civil war and the characters within the story. Thanks again to Victoria Hislop for the enjoyment and absorbing narrative experienced.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 May 2022

Verified Purchase

What an amazing read , I was carried along with the story, feeling the grief and joy of the characters.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 June 2020

Verified Purchase

I like Victoria Hislop’s novels and I enjoyed The Return. The part dealing with the Spanish Civil War is very interesting and extremely sad (but unfortunately true for thousands of families and displaced people); however, like other people have commented, I think the ‘top-and-tail” of Sonia’s story is unnecessary and makes the book turn into chick-lit.
The main inaccuracy is in the timeline: the book opens in 2001 when Maggie is celebrating her 35th birthday. Maggie and Sonia are the same age (at school together) so that makes them born in 1966.
In 1931, at the beginning of Part 2, Mercedes is 12; this means she was born in 1919. How can she be Sonia’s mother? Jack proposed in 1955 when Mercedes was already 36, and she would have had Sonia in 1966 at the age of 47 (definitely impossible back in the Sixties). I could see where the book was going, but I actually thought Mercedes would turn out to be her grandmother, not her mother. That would have made much more sense.
However, the part that takes place during the Civil War is very good. Altogether I enjoyed reading this book.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Hidden and heavy depths to a light read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 October 2008

Verified Purchase

The reasons I chose this book to read were firstly because I enjoyed "The Island" by the same author, and secondly because I wanted to find out more about the Spanish Civil War, after visiting Spain several times recently and being fascinated by the film Pan's Labyrinth.
It is a perfectly readable story of Mercedes and her family, and how they are destroyed, along with millions of other innocents, in the civil war, which like other civil wars, divided even close family members.
I find it shocking and frightening that the events described happened so recently; but that the name of Franco is not spoken of as frequently and with such loathing as that as Hitler. Also, that the thousands of tourists who visit Spain every year, myself among them, are so sadly ignorant of the horrible, and very recent, events, in this beautiful country.
How can it be forgotten that 150,000 people had to flee Malaga, the same resort famed for its sun and beaches, when it was bombed by Spanish nationalist troops backed up by German, Italian and North African mercenaries, and that people had to walk 150 kms to Almeria, constantly strafed by planes.
That half a million went into exile when Barcelona fell.
And that when Franco entered Madrid he received a telegram of congratulations from the Pope.
The Spanish civil war attracted interest around the globe, with idealists such as George Orwell, Laurie Lee and Ernest Hemingway flocking to help, sometimes naively, in the fight against facism.
So much still remains inexplicable about that time, and I have been recommended another book in my attempt to understand the conflict "The Battle for Spain" by Antony Beevor.
As a story I would have given this three stars, but the historical context and interest boost it up to four.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Kathcart

Moving and horrifying

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2021

Verified Purchase

Brought the Spanish civil war to life. A horrifying period in history. I personally knew little about the period and have welcomed the opportunity to learn.
A family tale of the disaster that is a true civil war.

One person found this helpful

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