Reading the 20th Century discussion

Another book I currently have on the go is...


The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 by Antony Beevor

I've read quite a few of Antony Beevor's history books and all, including this one, are characterised by his thoroughness, detail and authority. Despite all being detailed they are always absorbing accounts.

Despite reading a lot of fiction about set during the Spanish Civil War, and of course Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, I'd never read a proper account.

The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 is helping me realise just how much I didn't know.

What Spanish Civil War books do you recommend?


Both fiction and non-fiction?

Which books would you like to read about the Spanish Civil War?

I just read (one of my quick re-reads for 2020) . Not sure that I would recommend it as a source book for the Spanish Civil War, but interesting.

I used to love the Biggles books as a young boy

So did I - as a young girl, that is. I read them all - several times each, I'm sure.

The Time of the Dovesby Mercè Rodoreda
Réquiem por un campesino español by Ramón J. Sender
Both are novels. The Time of the Doves has also been published as In Diamond Square. I don't know if Requiem is available in English.

I've only read, and recently reread, the classic For Whom the Bell Tolls which I'd highly recommend if anyone hasn't read it. Homage to Catalonia is still on my TBR.

I've been struck by the extent to which the Civil War and Franco's dictatorship continue to have a hangover in the contemporary novels of Javier Marías.

Another book I read last year that comments on the Civil War, though obliquely, is The Island which is set on Mallorca - a 5-star book for me.

I guess I am still reading Hugh Thomas' The Spanish Civil War (1977 edition - that's about when I started it!).

Maybe switch to Beevor Jan. It's very pacy and readable. I'm immersed and learning loads

Roman Clodia wrote: "I've only read, and recently reread, the classic For Whom the Bell Tolls which I'd highly recommend if anyone hasn't read it. Homage to Catalonia is still on my TBR."

Thanks RC. Like you, I really enjoyed Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls which tells the story of an American volunteer who leads a small band of rebels, hiding in the mountains behind fascist lines, who have to blow up a bridge. There’s a great section that describes the scenes in one village following the “revolution”. Unpopular landowners are systematically executed in public. This is just one of the many ways Ernest highlights the brutality that marred the era.

For an insight into the fascist’s revenge checkout Granny Made Me an Anarchist: General Franco, The Angry Brigade and Me by Stuart Christieor Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and its Silent Past by Giles Tremlett

Ultimately For Whom the Bell Tolls is great literature that happens to be about the war, rather than a great book about the Spanish Civil War.

I recommend Homage to Catalonia as it provides a great insight into the politics of the war. It also appears to have inspired a number of the scenes in Ken Loach’s splendid Spanish Civil War film ‘Land and Freedom’. George’s description of Barcelona immediately after the revolution will live long in my memory – a real glimpse of a socialist/anarchist utopia. Alas it was all too brief and ultimately factionalism defeats the allies as George explains later in the book. George includes a lengthy couple of appendices that help the reader to understand the politics and the various political factions around at the time. The book is a great read and provides the best overview of both the politics, and the experience of a Brit volunteering to fight the fascists.

Another book well worth mentioning, which many of us have read, is As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning. Laurie Lee did an amazing thing. One midsummer morning he walked out of his childhood home in the Cotswolds (described in entertaining detail in the fabulous ‘Cider with Rosie’) and walked to Spain via London (described in ‘As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning’). The final part of the trilogy - ‘A Moment of War’ – covers Laurie’s return to Spain during the war. The introduction is brilliant. Laurie schleps across the Pyrenees to volunteer only to be arrested as a spy. I won’t say anymore, suffice to say it is gripping stuff. If you have the time and the inclination then read all three books. By the time you get to ‘A Moment of War’ you’ll adore Laurie’s fabulous powers of description and understated bravery.

I mentioned Granny Made Me an Anarchist: General Franco, The Angry Brigade and Me above. Stuart’s an interesting character as he wasn’t even born during the war, but nonetheless was inspired to try and assassinate General Franco in 1964 when he was still only 18. Far from his home in Glasgow and unable to speak Spanish he was arrested meeting his Spanish contact. In 1971 he was arrested again, this time in Britain, suspected of being a member of the Angry Brigade.

Granny Made Me an Anarchist: General Franco, The Angry Brigade and Me is Stuart’s autobiography which tells the story of these exploits and much more besides. The book works on so many levels. It's an insightful social history that touches on changes in Europe - and especially Britain - in the 50s, 60s & 70s. It's provides a great overview of radical politics during the same period. It's a great exploration of the legacy of the Spanish Civil War and the way the ideas endured beyond the 1930s.

The early 70s are evoked especially well - the radical politics, an establishment on the run and the bent coppers. It's also the story of an exceptional man - basically an ordinary working class bloke who happened to hold very strong political convictions and wanted to change society. He is very thoughtful and realistic about his ideals and what he managed to achieve. The book is fascinating; Stuart's personal story is riveting and his ideas still feel valid and contemporary.

Wow, great recommendations, Nigeyb!

I like your distinction between a book like Hemingway's set during the Spanish Civil War and those about the war. It's interesting, too, that these are all by non-Spanish writers who travelled to take part in the war.

This group has certainly opened me up to non-fiction, something I'd never read for pleasure before :)

Nigeyb wrote: "Maybe switch to Beevor Jan. It's very pacy and readable. I'm immersed and learning loads"

Too many years and too many pages invested.

I'm almost halfway through The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 by Antony Beevor. It's flying by and, as usual, AB gives plenty of detail but keeps the narrative flowing. He's magnificent at this kind of book. He's especially good at illuminating the complex political and regional forces that played such an important part in the origins and history of the war.

A statistic I stumbled across about the Spanish Civil War was that just short of 7000 Catholic clergy were put to death. Do any of these books touch on this or how, what we conisder a Catholic country reconciled that.

Yes, that features Michael. It's interesting to discover why there was so much resentment toward the church and clergy during this period in Spain.

In common with other countries during this era, the conservative Catholic church was generally alligned to the Fascists.

Thanks Nigeyb, I always felt that one of the main reasons for any such alignment, however tenuous, was that the Fascist movement didn't seek to outlaw religion whereas the left wing movements did. So you took the only option to survive, I guess.
There will always be resentment towards religions as you cannot serve both God and the State.

Last Days in Cleaver Square is supposed to be out in May.

Margaret wrote: "Last Days in Cleaver Square is supposed to be out in May 2021."


Thanks Margaret

I've not read any Patrick McGrath however the synopsis of Last Days in Cleaver Square suggesta it could be very intriguing and enjoyable.

Is he one of your favourite authors?

I'd recommend Muriel Rukeyser's Savage Coast, Gamel Woolsey's Death's Other Kingdom and Paul Preston's The Spanish Holocaust: Inquisition and Extermination in Twentieth-Century Spain

Thanks Alwynne. I don’t know any of those titles

Nigeyb wrote: "Margaret wrote: "Last Days in Cleaver Square is supposed to be out in May 2021."


Thanks Margaret

I've not read any Patrick McGrath however the synopsis of [book:Last Days in Clea..."

I haven't read anything by this author. This book was mentioned in here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/202... and I thought it looked interesting.

Thanks again Margaret.


Apparently, Patrick McGrath (born 7 February 1950) is a British novelist, whose work has been categorised as gothic fiction. He's had a steady output of novels...

The Grotesque (1989) (filmed by John-Paul Davidson in 1995 – see The Grotesque, aka Grave Indiscretion or Gentlemen Don't Eat Poets)
Spider (1990) (filmed by David Cronenberg in 2002 – see Spider)
Dr Haggard's Disease (1993)
Asylum (1996) (filmed by David Mackenzie in 2005 – see Asylum)
Martha Peake: a Novel of the Revolution (2000)
Port Mungo (2004)
Trauma (2008)
Constance (2013)
The Wardrobe Mistress (2017)

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Not set during the Spanish Civil War but harking back to it is Emeric Pressburger's Killing a Mouse on Sunday which was also filmed as Behold a Pale Horse. It's about an ageing Republican fighter who uses banditry as a way of keeping up opposition to Franco.
It's a good little book but disappointing for a fan of the films of Powell and Pressburger. Doesn't give much in the way of Civil War facts but it is an interesting look at the perspectives of people from either side and those stuck in the middle.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behold_...

Thanks CQM


I didn't realise Emeric Pressburger was also an author.

Killing A Mouse On Sunday sounds well worth reading.

This from Daniel George in the 'Broadsheet' and in the description appeals to me....

Questions of religion, of conscience, of love, of loyalty, even of justive, with things the law can take mo account of- these are at the back of a story where comedy comingles with tragedy in the high pyrenees.

Who was in the right we may never be able to decide. Only one thing is sure: this is a highly original novel, with the elements of a thriller, the romance of banditry in the mountains, the comedy of authority set at defiance, the undercurrent of ancient wrongs and of more recent political rancour.

HNY everyone. Just recoivering from Covid and thought it is a long time since I posted - hope you're all thriving. I have this editon on my shelf and have yet to give it a go but will do and report back. The Spanish fiction classic re. the Civil War I'd recommend is The Hive by Camilo Jose Cela, which covers the comings and goings of hungry, thirsty Madrid citizens at a local cafe. It's based on the real-life Cafe Gijon if you ever visit the city and want to see a place with many, deep literary links. Cela is a fascinating writer generally and was regarded as a great literary figure in Spain.

Nigeyb wrote: "Thanks again Margaret.


Apparently, Patrick McGrath (born 7 February 1950) is a British novelist, whose work has been categorised as gothic fiction. He's had a steady output of novels...

The Gro..."

Patrick McGrath is up there with my favourite authors. I didn't know he had a new one coming out this year, so that is exciting.

I used to attend Edinburgh Literature Festival each year, and the most entertaining event ever was a session with Patrick McGrath and Colm Toibin.

Martin Veitch wrote: "The Spanish fiction classic re. the Civil War I'd recommend is The Hive by Camilo Jose Cela"

Thanks for this, Martin - I'd be more inclined to read something written by a Spanish author - though my admittedly vague knowledge is that Cela was a Nationalist and supported Franco, I think?

Martin Veitch wrote:


"The Spanish fiction classic re. the Civil War I'd recommend is The Hive by Camilo José Cela"

Thanks from me too Martin - The Hive sounds like a top tip

The Hive (1951) presents a panoramic view of the degradation and sufferings of the lower-middle class in post-civil war Spain. Readers are introduced to over a hundred characters through a series of starkly rendered interlocking vignettes. Filled with violence, hunger, and compassion, The Hive captures the buzzing ambitions and set-backs of Spanish society under the rule of Franco

Nigeyb wrote:


"Thanks from me too Martin - The Hive sounds like a top tip

Sadly out of print and not that easy to source in a reasonably priced second hand edition (yet anyway)

I have located a £4 edition of Killing A Mouse On Sunday which is CQM's recommendation a few posts above

Cela was from Galicia and its true that he worked within Franco's Spain but he was a dissenter in many, many ways, a non-joiner and always a controversialist. The Hive and The Family of Pascual Duarte are his best known novels but he also wrote superb travelogues, dictionaries of swear words and much else. The Hive is well worth reading to understand the bordeom, hunger and factionlism of the War and after. Outside the Hispanic world, he is little read for a Nobel winner. I think the Civil War is like WWII in that it left relatively little great fiction. Perhaps the shocks were too many and too much and Spain is only now overcoming the 'pact of forgetting'... and slowly.

Nigeyb, Look forward to comparing notes on the Pressburger. Such a fine film-maker....

Martin Veitch wrote: "Nigeyb, Look forward to comparing notes on the Pressburger. Such a fine film-maker...."


Thanks Martin - me too

Jan C wrote: "I guess I am still reading Hugh Thomas' The Spanish Civil War (1977 edition - that's about when I started it!)."

Forgive my indulgence, but Hugh Thomas is rarely referenced on Goodreads, and it gives me the chance to share a first hand anecdote.
In 1998 Hugh (Lord)Thomas bought a small photocopier from our company for installation at his home in Ladbroke Grove, West London. This coincided with the publication of his book The Slave Trade https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2....
We didn't have many titled customers (!) and my interest was whetted.

A few years later (2012) we needed to swap the copier over and I took the chance to take my copy of Lord Thomas's book to his house in the hope that he might inscribe it. The house itself (on four floors) was shelved, floor to ceiling, in every room, with the ultimate collection of novels, histories and academic books and was every bibliophiles dream.
When we arrived to repair the copier I duly presented my copy of The Slave Trade and instead of hustling a quick signature I found myself sipping sherry in Lord Thomas's study for the next hour while my copier technician colleague (long since finished) was awaiting me in the van outside (with some amusement). In conversation we talked about African history, Lady Thatcher, David Cameron (PM at the time), and at some length about Thomas's disgust at the destruction of the original British Library and its modern replacement in Euston Road.

Alas, no mention was made of the Spanish Civil War.

Jonathan wrote: "Jan C wrote: "I guess I am still reading Hugh Thomas' The Spanish Civil War (1977 edition - that's about when I started it!)."

Forgive my indulgence, but Hugh Thomas ..."

What a great story! Thanks for sharing it.

Wow. Splendid anecdote Jonathan - I thoroughly enjoyed reading that tale

Jonathan wrote: "Jan C wrote: "I guess I am still reading Hugh Thomas' The Spanish Civil War (1977 edition - that's about when I started it!)."

Forgive my indulgence, but Hugh Thomas ..."

That's a great story. Thanks.

Margaret wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "Jan C wrote: "I guess I am still reading Hugh Thomas' The Spanish Civil War (1977 edition - that's about when I started it!)."..."

Thank you Margaret, Jan and Nigel.
I remember the BBC broadcaster Danny Baker asking listeners to ring in and share anecdotes about meeting the rich and famous (mostly footballers and pop stars), off duty. Some great stories, and funnier than mine.
One final recollection. I recall asking Lord Thomas about Lady Thatcher's fearsomeness (Thomas was originally a Labour MP and switched to Conservative and Liberal Democrat - a pragmatist!). His answer was that she had the most impeccable manners- a quality he held in the highest regard.

Here is a book I'd like to recommend to others--Stone in a Landslide by Maria Barbal.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

It is historical fiction, I gave it five stars.

Chrissie wrote:


"Here is a book I'd like to recommend to others--Stone in a Landslide by Maria Barbal"

That sounds wonderful. Thank you


I've now finished The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939.

Here's my review....

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

4/5

Just moving some recommendations from another thread over here:

Alwynne: 'Muriel Rukseyer's Savage Coast is an interesting Spanish Civil War novel but not always easy to get hold of. The first two-thirds are gripping but it trails off towards the end.'

Tania: 'I have heard Days of Hope by André Malraux called one of the best novels about the Spanish Civil War. I suspect it is also hard to get hold of though.'

Alwynne: 'Paul Preston's histories of the Spanish Civil War are worth reading, and I enjoyed Hotel Florida: Truth, Love, and Death in the Spanish Civil War which looks at journalists and writers covering the war inc. Gellhorn, Hemingway, it's a lighter, more general read than Preston's works but a reasonable overview and a useful way in to the period.'

Kathleen: 'I believe A Long Petal of the Sea is about the Spanish Civil War, but maybe more afterwards,'

Alwynne: 'I think there are probably quite a number but some written during Franco's rule would have been leaning towards propaganda, then a lot were written in exile - Mexico, Buenos Aires etc - so probably not translated here. Then the post-Franco Pact of Forgetting probably discouraged a lot of contemporary writers and possibly a lot of publishers from issuing novels from the period? I think Giles Tremlett talked about it in Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and its Silent Past - which is really fascinating btw.

Also there doesn't seem that much classic Spanish literature translated in general, I came across this which looks good but out of print already Stone in a Landslide, Max Aub's series sounds amazing but only one in English Field of Honour and that costs a fortune!

Nigeyb: 'Another one, only tangentially linked to the war, but which is wonderful is Granny Made Me an Anarchist: General Franco, The Angry Brigade and Me. Stuart’s an interesting character as he wasn’t even born during the Civil War, but nonetheless was inspired to try and assassinate General Franco in 1964 when he was still only 18. Far from his home in Glasgow and unable to speak Spanish he was arrested meeting his Spanish contact. In 1971 he was arrested again, this time in Britain, suspected of being a member of the Angry Brigade.'

Me: 'Just looked up Ghosts of Spain and found Tremlett has a new book, published autumn 2020: The International Brigades: Fascism, Freedom and the Spanish Civil War that looks very good.'

Nigey glad to hear you rated the Tremlett too. RC a group read of the new one sounds very enticing!

Ooooh. New Tremlett. Thanks


Up for a buddy but no pressure

The International Brigades: Fascism, Freedom and the Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War was the first armed battle in the fight against fascism, and a rallying cry for a generation. Over 35,000 volunteers from fifty-two countries around the world came to defend democracy against the troops of Franco, Hitler, and Mussolini.

Ill-equipped and disorderly, yet fueled by a shared sense of purpose and potential glory, disparate groups of idealistic young men and women banded together to form a volunteer army of a size and kind unseen since the Crusades, known as the International Brigades. These passionate liberal fighters-from across Europe, China, Africa and the Americas-would join the Republican cause, fighting for over two years on the bloody battlegrounds of Madrid, Jarama and Ebro. Were they heroes or fools? Saints or bloodthirsty adventurers? And what exactly did they achieve?

In this magisterial history, award-winning historian Giles Tremlett tells-for the first time-the story of the Spanish Civil War through all the human drama of an historic mission to halt fascist expansion in Europe. The International Brigades shows just how far ordinary people will go to save democracy against overwhelming odds.

Nigeyb wrote: "Ooooh. New Tremlett. Thanks


Up for a buddy but no pressure

The International Brigades: Fascism, Freedom and the Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War was the first armed battl..."

That doesn't come out here until August 24.

Jan C wrote:


"The International Brigades: Fascism, Freedom and the Spanish Civil War doesn't come out here in the US until August 24, 2021"

I wonder why that is Jan

It came out in the UK in October 2020.

I notice on Amazon UK it has 116 global ratings and over 95% are 4 or 5 star.

It is also a behemoth, coming in at 720 pages.

Given how much I loved Giles Tremlett's Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and its Silent Past this is a must read for me.

Up for a buddy if anyone fancies it, but no pressure. I'll be reading it anyway - well actually, given it's length, I'll probably go for the audiobook.

Yes, I'd like to buddy read this, Nigeyb - good idea about the audiobook: I've got my Audible account on hold at the moment so will need to check what date I can resume it.

Sounds good

I'll at least be waiting until 8/24.

This just came up on my recommendations list: The Carpenter's Pencil:

It is the summer of 1936, the early months of the agonising civil war that engulfs Spain and shakes the rest of the world. In a prison in the pilgrim city of Santiago de Compostela, an artist sketches the famous porch of the cathedral, the Portico da Gloria. He uses a carpenter's pencil. But instead of reproducing the sculptured faces of the prophets and elders, he draws the faces of his fellow Republican prisoners.

Many years later in post-Franco Spain, a survivor of that period, Doctor Daniel da Barca, returns from exile to his native Galicia, and the threads of past memories begin to be woven together. This poetic and moving novel conveys the horror and savagery of the tragedy that divided Spain, and the experiences of the men and women who lived through it.

Sounds very intriguing.


Are you going to be reading it RC?

Definitely, I did the Look Inside and like the feel of it.