The fountains of silence A novel

Ruta Sepetys

Book - 2019

Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists and foreign businessmen flood into Spain under the welcoming guise of sunshine and wine. Among them is eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson, the son of an oil tycoon, who arrives in Madrid with his parents hoping to connect with the country of his mother's birth through the lens of his camera. Photography and fate introduce him to Ana, whose family's interweaving obstacles reveal the lingering grasp of the Spanish Civil War as well as chilling definitions of fortune and fear. Daniel's photographs leave him with uncomfortable questions amidst shadows of danger. He is backed into a corner of decisions to pro...tect those he loves. Lives and hearts collide, revealing an incredibly dark side to the sunny Spanish city.

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Subjects
Genres
Historical fiction
Romance fiction
Published
New York : Philomel Books [2019]
Language
English
Main Author
Ruta Sepetys (author)
Physical Description
495 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
ISBN
9780399160318
9780593116708
9780593115251
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

It's 1957 and aspiring photographer Daniel Matheson is visiting Spain with his Texas oil tycoon father. Daniel is eager for the opportunity to flesh out his portfolio for a photography contest what would be more prize-­worthy than photos of daily life in notoriously secretive Spain? but he gets repeated warnings, some quite aggressive, against looking too closely. Another thing Daniel doesn't bank on is Ana, an arrestingly beautiful maid at the Castellana Hilton, where he's staying with his parents. As their affection deepens, so, too, do their differences: Ana, daughter of executed anti-Fascists, lives a tightly constrained existence, and Daniel has unprecedented freedom in her country and can't quite wrap his head around the danger he puts her in. In another meticulously researched novel, Sepetys (Salt to the Sea, 2015) offers a captivating glimpse into Franco's Spain, a region awash in secrets and misinformation. As Sepetys slowly unspools hard truths about the era, such as the prevalence of babies stolen from poor, Republican families, the facts become increasingly impossible to ignore, both for the reader and for Daniel. The romance ultimately takes center stage, but the troubling events in the margins add terrifyingly high stakes to Daniel and Ana's relationship. For all her extensive, careful research (evident in the back matter), Sepetys doesn't overwhelm readers with facts; rather, she tells a moving story made even more powerful by its placement in a lesser-known historical moment. Captivating, deft, and illuminating historical fiction. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A new novel from best-selling, award-winning Sepetys is always news, but this latest has a hefty promotional campaign to bolster it up as well.--Sarah Hunter Copyright 2019 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Sepetys (Salt to the Sea) again deftly explores a painful chapter in history, this time Franco's Madrid. In 1957, 18-year-old Daniel, an aspiring photojournalist from Texas, visits Spain with his Spanish mother and American oil tycoon father. After arriving, he hones his lens on the culture, in some cases capturing forbidden images that earn the wrath of the menacing Guardia Civil, and he forms a relationship with his enigmatic hotel attendant, Ana, and her family, who are barely surviving, in stark contrast to Daniel's family's affluence. The tension heightens as a mystery involving orphans unfolds and Daniel and Ana's magnetic romance progresses. The novel revolves around Ana's brother, Rafa, a bullfighting promoter; her cousin Puri, who works at an orphanage; a lecherous American ambassador; and an experienced newspaper bureau chief, who mentors Daniel. Sepetys skillfully conveys Spain's atmosphere under Franco--who limited women's rights and squelched rebellion--with a pervasive feeling of fear and economic oppression. Compelling primary source materials, such as memos from U.S. presidents, oral history excerpts, and even hotel brochures, precede some chapters and contextualize the narrative. This gripping, often haunting historical novel offers a memorable portrait of fascist Spain. Ages 12--up. (Oct.)

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Review by Library Journal Review

In 1957, 18-year-old Daniel Matheson has accompanied his parents to Madrid from Dallas where his oil tycoon father is working on a deal with the dictator Francisco Franco. Daniel has a passion for photography and soon develops a passion for Ana, the hotel maid assigned to his family. But Ana has secrets of her own; her parents were executed as part of the revolutionary group trying to bring Franco down. Other subplots of a mysterious orphanage, disappearing babies, and an aspiring bullfighter weave into the storyline to paint a troubling picture of Spain under Franco's rule. The main narrator is Maite Jauregui, who has excellent Spanish prounciation and realistically portrays the Spanish characters. Richard Ferrone, Neil Hellegers, Joshua Kane, Liza Kaplan, and Oliver Wyman all perform throughout, narrating primary-source material such as newscasts, memos, telegrams, and oral history excerpts, adding context and depth to the story. The book jumps 18 years into the future at the end, revealing more secrets, and concludes with a note read very expressively by the author herself. Although the audio version naturally omits the pictures included in the print version, the narration immerses listeners into this atmospheric place and time, hopefully enticing them to pursue further research into this turbulent time in Spain's history. VERDICT Recommend this to historical fiction fans, romance fans, and fans of Sepetys's earlier works.--Julie Paladino, formerly with East Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill, NC

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up--In 1957, 18-year-old Daniel Matheson has accompanied his parents from Dallas to Madrid, where his oil tycoon father is working on a deal with the dictator Francisco Franco. Daniel has a passion for photography and soon develops another passion, for Ana, the hotel maid assigned to his family. But Ana has secrets; her parents were executed as part of the revolutionary group trying to bring Franco down. Other subplots about a mysterious orphanage, disappearing babies, and an aspiring bullfighter weave into the storyline to paint a troubling picture of Spain under Franco's rule. The main narrator is Maite Jauregui, who realistically portrays the Spanish characters and words. Richard Ferrone, Neil Hellegers, Joshua Kane, Liza Kaplan, and Oliver Wyman all perform throughout the audio, narrating primary-source material such as newscasts, memos, telegrams, and oral history excerpts, adding context and depth to the story. The story jumps 18 years into the future at the end, revealing more secrets, and concludes with a note read expressively by the author herself. Although the audio version naturally omits the pictures included in the print version, having an authentic Spanish narrator immerses listeners into this atmospheric place and time, hopefully enticing listeners to pursue further research into this turbulent time in Spain's history. VERDICT Recommend this to historical fiction fans, romance fans, and fans of Sepetys's earlier works.--Julie Paladino, formerly of East Chapel Hill High School

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

Sepetyss riveting historical epic examines the enduring effects of the Spanish Civil War through the perspectives of four young people living under the shadow of Francos fascist dictatorship in 1957 Madrid. Ana and Rafael are siblings whose Republican educator parents were murdered for opposing Francos Nationalist party. Now, almost twenty years later, the family still struggles. Ana is a maid in an American-style hotel, while Rafael splits his time between working in a slaughterhouse and digging graves. They earn pennies even as Francos government grows rich off American tourism and oil industries. Their cousin Puri, a loyal fascist, is a caregiver at a Catholic orphanage, where she is increasingly disturbed by some troubling discoveries concerning the infants in her charge. Daniel, an aspiring American photojournalist whose mother is from Spain and father is a Texas oil baron, befriends Ana and Rafael and begins to question everything hes been told about Spain and its pretty faadeespecially after he and Ana fall in love. Through lively characters and short, swiftly paced chapters permeated with elements of mystery and suspense, Sepetys thoroughly and sensitively explores the vast social, economic, and political issues that plagued postwar Spain, including the selling of stolen Republican infants to Nationalist families. Excerpts from newspapers, government documents, and interviews from and about the time add another layer of veracity. Back matter includes an authors note, an extensive bibliography, information on sources, a glossary of Spanish words and phrases, and a photo gallery. An exemplary work of historical fiction. jennifer hubert swan September/October 2019 p.100(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

The pitiless dictatorship of Francisco Franco examined through the voices of four teenagers: one American and three Spaniards.The Spanish Civil War lasted from 1936-1939, but Franco held Spain by its throat for 36 years. Sepetys (Salt to the Sea, 2016, etc.) begins her novel in 1957. Daniel is a white Texan who wants to be a photojournalist, not an oilman; Ana is trying to work her way to respectability as a hotel maid; her brother, Rafael, wants to erase memories of an oppressive boys' home; and Puri is a loving caregiver for babies awaiting adoptiontogether they provide alternating third-person lenses for viewing Spain during one of its most brutally repressive periods. Their lives run parallel and intersect as each tries to answer questions about truth and the path ahead within a regime that crushes any opposition, murders dissidents, and punishes their families while stealing babies to sell to parents with accepted political views. This formidable story will haunt those who ask hard questions about the past as it reveals the hopes and dreams of individuals in a nation trying to lie its way to the future. Meticulous research is presented through believable, complex characters on the brink of adulthood who personalize the questions we all must answer about our place in the world. A stunning novel that exposes modern fascism and elevates human resilience. (author's note, research and sources, glossary, photographs) (Historical fiction. 15-adult) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Chapter 1 They stand in line for blood. June's early sun blooms across a string of women waiting patiently at  el matadero . Fans snap open and flutter, replying to Madrid's warmth and the scent of open flesh wafting from the slaughterhouse. The blood will be used for  morcilla , blood sausage. It must be measured with care. Too much blood and the sausage is not firm. Too little and the sausage crumbles like dry earth. Rafael wipes the blade on his apron, his mind miles from  morcilla . He turns slowly from the line of customers and puts his face to the sky. In his mind it is Sunday. The hands of the clock touch six. It is time. The trumpet sounds and the march of the  pasodoble  rolls through the arena. Rafael steps onto the sand, into the sun. He is ready to meet Fear. In the center box of the bullring sits Spain's dictator, Generalísimo Francisco Franco. They call him  El Caudillo  -- leader of armies, hero by the grace of God. Franco looks down to the ring. Their eyes meet. You don't know me, Generalísimo, but I know you. I am Rafael Torres Moreno, and today, I am not afraid. "Rafa!" The supervisor swats the back of Rafael's damp neck. "Are you blind? There's a line. Stop daydreaming. The blood, Rafa. Give them their blood." Rafa nods, walking toward the patrons. His visions of the bullring quickly disappear. Give them their blood. Memories of war tap at his brain. The small, taunting voice returns, choking daydreams into nightmares.  You do remember, don't you, Rafa? He does. The silhouette is unmistakable. Patent-leather men with patent-leather souls. The Guardia Civil. He secretly calls them the Crows. They are servants of Generalísimo Franco and they have appeared on the street. "Please. Not here," whispers Rafael from his hiding spot beneath the trees. The wail of a toddler echoes above. He looks up and sees Julia at the open window, holding their youngest sister, Ana. Their father's voice booms from inside. "Julia, close the window! Lock the door and wait for your mother. Where is Rafa?" "Here, Papá," whispers Rafael, his small legs folded in hiding. "I'm right here." His father appears at the door. The Crows appear at the curb. The shot rings out. A flash explodes. Julia screams from above. Rafa's body freezes. No breath. No air. No. No. No. They drag his father's limp corpse by an arm. "¡Papá!" It's too late. As the cry leaves his throat, Rafa realizes. He's given himself away. A pair of eyes dart. "His boy's behind the tree. Grab him." Rafa blinks, blocking the painful memories, hiding his collapsed heart beneath a smile. " Buenos días, señora.  How may I help you?" he asks the customer. "Blood." "Sí, señora." Give them their blood. For more than twenty years, Spain has given blood. And sometimes Rafa wonders -- what is left to give? Excerpted from The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.