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Loading... Guernica (2008)by Dave Boling
  
None No current Talk conversations about this book. Nice book, but everyone in the book was just too nice to ring true. More than half of the book is spent wallowing in a perfect small group of families in an idealised small-town community. When the bombs arrived I wanted to scream 'nasty two-timing horrid people don't deserve to get torn apart either'. Well written, and well meaning. I think the first half was probably set up to provide contrast with war and make it more shocking when it came, but for me the first half made me want to get the second half over quick - having wallowed in sentiment I didn't want to wallow in blood and pain. Perhaps a book for those who do not yet know anything much about the Spanish Civil war. (  ) Ma_Washigeri | Jan 23, 2021 |  Spanish Civll War, Historical fiction, Basques The (  ) Jaelle | Jan 22, 2021 | Very readable, but definitely not 'epic' as suggested by the reviews on the cover. The sub-threads regarding Picasso and von Richthofen didn't really sit very well within the main story. A fascinating time and place in which to set a novel, although I felt that the historical context could have been explored in a lot more depth. ( ) neal_ | Apr 10, 2020 | I thought this sounded an interesting story and I was looking forward to reading it. But it fell short for me. It is an interesting story but there were too many characters and I didn't feel any connection to them. So when the attack happens I didn't feel the emotional connection that I should have. The Spanish Civil War and its atrocities have been overshadowed by WW2 so we all know less than we should about it and if fiction can help then that is all to the good. I felt there was a good story here but this novel wasn't it. ( ) infjsarah | Jun 17, 2017 | I found this a moving and beautifully-written book. Set in the town of Guernica, during the Spanish Civil War it tells the story of a small group of people connected by family, marriage and friendship. There is a great sense of place, conveyed through the landscape and the richness of the Basque culture. Although historical people play a part in the story, the complicated politics of the war are not examined in detail, rather, Boling concentrates on the effects that the consequent suspicion, violence and hardship have on his central characters. It is not generally a sentimental book, although it did bring me to tears at times. However, I thought that the ending was the weakest part of the book, because there it did stray into sentimentality. (  ) Goldengrove | Apr 15, 2016 | no reviews | add a review
Calling to mind such timeless war-and-love classics as Corelli's Mandolin and The English Patient, Guernica is a transporting novel that thrums with the power of storytelling and is peopled with characters driven by grit and heart. In 1935, Miguel Navarro finds himself in conflict with the Spanish Civil Guard and flees the Basque fishing village of Lekeitio to make a new start in Guernica, the center of Basque culture and tradition. In the midst of this isolated bastion of democratic values, Miguel finds more than a new life--he finds someone to live for. Miren Ansotegui is a charismatic and graceful dancer who has her pick of the bachelors in Guernica, but she focuses only on the charming and mysterious Miguel. The two discover a love that war and tragedy cannot destroy. History and fiction merge seamlessly in this beautiful novel about the resilience of family, love, and tradition in the face of hardship. The bombing of Guernica was a devastating experiment in total warfare by the German Luftwaffe in the run-up to World War II. For the Basques, it was an attack on the soul of their ancient nation; for the world, it was an unprecedented crime against humanity. In his first novel, Boling reintroduces the event and paints his own picture of a people so strong, vibrant, and proud that they are willing to do whatever it takes to protect their values, their country, and their loved ones. No library descriptions found. 
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LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumDave Boling's book Guernica was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.  
LibraryThing AuthorDave Boling is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing. Popular covers
 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.77)
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