This is a very readable fictionalised history of the Spanish Civil War and its impact on the Basque peoples.

It illustrates that attacking a small region can have a widespread impact over a much wider area. The characters are believable and come to life from the pages of the story. The traditions of the Basque region spring into being as one reads about them. The politics comes to life alongside the terror of the attacks, the devastation of a village the reader has come to know and the loss and fear of families torn apart.

If you have an interest in the work of Picasso, read this; if you have an interest in wartime Europe read this; if you are interested in Spanish, Basque or French Resistance history read this; and if you just enjoy a good absorbing read ... go on pick it up and read it.

Look forward to more from Dave Boling. ( )

At the center of this novel is the town of Guernica, a cultural center of the Basque people and the site of one of the first carpet bombing of a town and its civilian population. At the beginning of World War II the German Luftwaffe, showing support for Franco and his rebel forces in Spain, bombed this small town to bits. No one knows how many people died.

Boling tells a story of two families from the Basque Country in the western Pyrenees mountains. The region lies on the border between France and Spain along the Atlantic coast. The story of the Ansotegui and Navarro families begins in the late 1800's but most of the novel takes placein the 1930 focusing on the meeting and marriage between Miren Ansotegui and Miguel Navarro. The story continues through the bombing and then follows the survivors.

Boling portrays members of both families with depth and caring and there is almost a touch of magical realism woven throughout the book. The reader follows many characters through their lifetimes. Through great detail and lyric language, Boling conveys the rugged landscape and rich history of the region and of the Basque people. ( )

I pretty excited to read this book after reading Beevor's The Battle for Spain, but I was sort of disappointed. This book seemed to my rather uneducated understanding a gross oversimplification of the situation in Spain at the time. The author admits as much in his note at the end, stating, 'I tried not to tax the reader with elaborations on the complex and volatile politics at work at the time--' This may be forgivable in a shorter work, but there was no need to trundle along for 200 odd pages before reaching the main historical happening without bothering to paint a clearer context. What is left is just a stock noble peasant family which could have been in Ireland, Armenia, the Balkans, or anywhere else a people are oppressed by a stronger one. The family members where pretty one-D. They could have been Smurfs. Strong Smurf, Seasick Smurf, Pretty Smurf, Brash Smurf.

Oh yeah, and Deus Ex Machina and some feel good hollywood dialog.

This review is pretty harsh so far, but I have a read way worse books than this one. It is just that book is not 'under the influence of Hemingway' as the back of the book claims.

I received this as an ARC book, and read it over the past 5 days. An historical novel about the Basque town of Guernica before and after it was bombed in April, 1937, it skilfully weaves together historical and fictional characters into one novel.

Since I did not know much about the Spanish Civil War, Franco, or the Basque country, I appreciated the inclusion of a map, pronunciation guide, and author's list of internet resources and recommended fiction and non-fiction books.

I did feel that the characters were a little one-sided -- particularly the Basque citizens who were all completely noble, pure, and warm-hearted or else members of the enemy. On the other hand, because all of the main characters were so likable, I was easily swept into their story, and eager to find out what happened to them.

I appreciated the more complex, but relatively minor character of Charley Swan, who had to reconcile his desire for peace with his fascination for flying and motivation to fight in the war.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and found that I liked it more the further into it I read. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, and who is interested in the Basque region of Spain, the Spanish Civil War, and WWII. ( )

This book was full of historical information that the people of Guernica experienced during the time of the Spanish Civil War. The outcome of this war helped the Gestapo earn an advantage over the Spanish countryside, which gave the Nazi regime more power to accomplish their tasks during WWII. There were many interesting characters in this novel, including a couple names that you might remember like Picasso and the Red Baron.

The book opens in the village of Guernica, which gives you a good taste of the traditions of the Basque culture. Justo is one of the main characters in the novel and lives on a farm with his parents and younger brothers. Before too long Justo finds himself in a parental position on the farm, having to manage the farm and take care of his younger brothers. Since Justo has been working so hard on the farm since a young age, he becomes quite muscular as a young man is known as the strongest man in town.

One of my favorite parts of this novel was when Justo becomes enamored with Mariangeles. You knew it just had to be love for her to still fall in love with this man, considering how he must have looked most of the time. Since Justo spent most of his time working on the farm he really didn't put much consideration into his appearance. The two eventually marry and have one daughter whom they name Miren. Since his brothers have grown up and moved on with their lives, they reside on the farm and raise their daughter together.

Miren grows into a very confident young lady and seems to me to be the light of the town. Whenever there is a party or a dance, Miren seems to be the star and everyone wants to be around her. Not only does her beauty and her air of excitement jump off the page, but also her compassion. When she was just a young girl she happened to be in the convent one day and noticed a young orphaned girl that lived there and was being raised by the nuns. At that time she took young Alaia under her wing and befriended her and their friendship grew into a sisterly love.

So much happens within this story that tells you what life was like both before and during the war. You can feel the tension building up as you are reading, because you know the bombing of Guernica is coming. And the result of this bombing was devastating to all that were present. Boling gave me such an intense visual of what it must have been like for these people that I had tears in my eyes at one point. Getting the opportunity see a peice of the characters lives and then to experience the horror of the attack was heart-wrenching.

After the bombing of Guernica we get a glimpse of what it was like for the citizens to go on with their lives, some with and others without their loved ones. Life changes drastically as they find themselves having to ration food moreso than they already have and occurences with the Gestapo seem to become routine. Citizens try to hide their livestock and if they happen to butcher an animal they can only hope that the Gestapo does not learn of it or they may come and confiscate all of the meat that is so greatly needed.

This one event was the inspiration for Picasso's famous work of art titled Guernica. I think I have seen pictures of this painting but really did not look into the story or significance behind this work of art.

I found myself enjoying this story more than I thought I would, as I stayed up later than usual a couple of evenings just to get a little extra reading in. To help you have a better understanding of the book, Boling includes a map of the territory and also a pronunciation guide. From the pronunciation guide I found the proper way to pronounce Guernica is as follows: gare-KNEE-ka. I was pronouncing it totally wrong before I looked at this. This book was about love, traditions, war, recovery and many other things that become evident as you are reading. I loved how this story brought us into the lives of a family that found a way to reach into their inner depths to go on with their lives after encountering such a tramatic event. I have no hesitation with recommending this book. I feel that I should warn you that the bombing segment was very intense in emotional and some readers may find that part a bit too much. There is also a reading group guide included so I think book clubs would have very interesting discussions. ( )