The Anatomy of a Moment (original 2009; edition 2009)

Anatomy of a Moment is a fascinating look at the events around the 23rd Feb 1981 coup attempt in Spain. Whilst I have read a number of books on the Spanish Civil War, I had not read anything on the Franco years or the immediate aftermath so I found this book really enlightening. It covers the lead up to the coup, the background of the key players, the events of the coup itself and the aftermath. Undoubtedly, there is one figure that stands out above all others, the main focus of this book: Adolfo Suarez.

A minister under Franco, Suarez was chosen by King Juan Carlos I to lead the transition from dictatorship to democracy. He did so with great skill and cunning, outmaneuvering both left and right in trying to create a stable democracy. Before reading this book I knew little about Suarez or his role in the "transition". Now I am fascinated by this interesting and wily character. If it wasn't for the skill of Suarez, Spain might still be suffering under a military dictatorship. That they aren't is principally down to a man who understood the game of politics perhaps more than any of his contemporaries.

If you are interested in finding out more about the "transition" and the immediate post-Franco era, I would heartily recommend this book. And if you aren't, read it anyway. It is a worthy addition to the body of work exploring Spain's path in the last 100 years, from democracy to Civil War to dictatorship to democracy again. ( )

Historical account and personal reflections on events surrounding a 1981 coup attempt in Spain (called "23-F"). In-depth look at Spanish political life in the years just after dictator Franco's death. Author wanted to write a novel at first, but felt instead that the reality of 23-F "mattered more" than fiction. (Cercas is evidently a rising star in Spanish literature.) Started reading it on a whim because I know very little about modern Spanish history. Cercas presents a fascinating narrative, rich in detail. He presents evidence of considerable skulduggery among the power players in Spain at that time. My only complaint is the book lacked a general index and list of major figures. There were so many players (both political and military) involved, it was hard to keep them all straight. ( )

Between fact and fiction, the story of a failed coup is delivered in the most fascinating way. Through Cercas we witness a critical moment in Spanish democracy. A personal account of a moment lived by a whole nation in vigil. Javier Cercas is an excellent storyteller who will transport the reader back in time to a moment when the future of the Spanish democracy looked bleak. ( )

The title of this book is not misleading; the author takes nearly 400 pages to examine a 35 minute scene. I found it to be a very dense read trying to follow along as the author picks apart the actions of the key players in an attempted coup in Spain in 1981. The book seems to be meticulously researched, but also has a boat load of speculation as to motives of these individuals. As I know little about Spanish history (I didn’t even know this coup took place), this book ended up being too technical to hold my interest. ( )

Brilliant, moving, powerful. In Cercas' account of the 23 February 1981 hostage-taking in the Spanish Cortes, simple narrative and its components are denaturalized. Each moment is potentially transformational, and Cercas invests the fullness of his narrative talents in describing the meanings revealed in the momentary gestures of his actors. The narrative depends on thirty-five minutes of accidentally-recorded tape. It is Cercas' primary record and the framing device for his narrative, and he returns to it at the opening of each chapter.

Cercas' uncommon sympathy for what he calls the "hero of retreat" proves particularly moving. The few, great parliamentarians that resist their captors – Adolpho Suárez, the prime minister; Gutiérrez Mellado, his defense secretary; and Santiago Carillo, leader of the Communists – are at the end of their careers. They have lost their old allies. They have no friends in the new, democratic Spain that they had brought to life. In their resistance to their captors on 23 February, they are alone.

Cercas returns to the first years of democratization, and beyond to the Civil War. In their small, noble gestures on 23 February, he finds redemption – for Suárez, he finds a redemption from amoral politics, and for Mellado, a redemption from a Nationalist past. Cercas captures a fascinating coincidence of public virtue and private motive in his men, and each leg of his many trips to the thirty-five minutes is a minor revelation. Cercas gives the rebels Tejero, Milans and Armada far less moral depth, but he still details each decision they faced, and their every division over the aims of 23 February. His account is none the worse for it.

A delightful book. Strongly recommended. ( )