Customer Reviews

The Cypresses Believe in God

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This book is filled with emotion and depicts with great skill the life and feelings of the people of the town of Gerona in Spain in the years before the Civil War. The most important thing is the personalities of the characters, but the suspense is great (I could not stop reading it for three straight days). It is a monument to catholicism too. It makes you understand how such a thing as the Spanish War took place. It was reprinted several times and had great impact in Spain and was followed by two more books. In my opinion the author deserves a Nobel Prize

I've taken up history books of late - and picked up this novel to read it through a second time. Considered by most old Spaniards to be the most unbiased account of events leading up to the Spanish civil war.
What an amazing book! Not only is the story gripping, but the characters have an unmatched depth. Human conflict, both internal and external is portrayed with impressive deftness. The most influential philosophical movements of the 20th century are embodied in likeable, lovable, and sympathetic characters (anarchism, existentialism, communism, catholocism, etc). The Alvear family is touched by each through people they meet, and through changes in their beloved Gerona. But the Alvear's somehow avoid being absorbed into any one ideology and thus remain the perfect referees to convey the meaning in all that happens during these tumultuous years.
If you like history: read this book.
If you like philosophy: read this book.
If you like a great story: read this book.
At least, that's what I tell all the people to whom I've given copies.

I realize that I am overselling this book by calling it the greatest book I ever read but, it is. The reason for it is that I was always interested in the Spanish Civil War. I always viewed that event as a microcosm of the politics of the 20th Century. The problems with most histories of the event is that they don't fully cover the political spectrum. Gironella presents a review of life in Spain leading up to the outbreak of rebellion. In his use of characters, the reader is introduced to every faction involved; from anarchist to royalist and everything in between. This personalization of the politics makes it all the more understandable and gives one an insight to the many conflicts within the conflict. Yes, it's long but I didn't think so even after the second reading.

Like Russian novels of the nineteenth century, Gironella's great book is quite lengthy. But once you start reading, you are hooked. As in all great novels, you come to know the characters as if they are live persons you have met. You want to know what happens next to them. To understand the Spanish Civil War--maybe, to understand fully any historical era, you must ironically turn to a novel that captures the personalities and passions that shape history. Gironella does that for us and reverses the immense and false propaganda, encouraged by writers like Hemingway, that the Loyalist government in Madrid was a noble cause, when in fact it was a vehicle for anti-Christian fanaticism of the worst kind. But Gironella, like any great novelist, does not just paint black-and-white characters. He shows the mixture of good and bad behind people of all ideological hues. He captures the passion and pride of Spain expressed in the dreams and commitments of individuals struggling against each other. They hated each other, but they were all Spaniards seeking dignity for themselves and for the nation in savagely contradictory ways, some of them rational, others barbaric. In addition, it is unmistakable that Gironella is a Catholic. Catholic wisdom courses through the novel without preachiness. It seeps through characters like Mosen Francisco ("Mosen" is a Spanish honorific for priests meaning literally "My Lord," similar to the title Don or Dom), or the Christ-figure of the book, César. You will not only understand Spain and her savage civil war: you will understand yourself and life better.

To prepare for a trip to Spain I plowed through Gironella's masterpiece, thought by some to be the most unbiased account written of the Civil War. And until the bloody ending, it is. Gironella portrays the middle class Alvear family at the center of the swirling political currents in Spain in the 1930's after the establishment of the Republic. Spain shed its monarch later than the rest of Europe, and subsequent events mirrored events that had occurred in other countries many years earlier. Making the transition to democracy is complex--not only must the form of government be worked out, but the power of religion and the military must be reined in, and above all there must be a broad commitment to the rule of law. Gironella deftly portrays these competing forces through his characters, and through the Alvear family in microcosm. We see the complexities of the situation--our popular understanding that the Falange was "bad" and the Leftists "good" is woefully inadquate.

Not knowing anything about Gironella, a reader is able to see the merits of all sides, as well as smile at the innocent beliefs of some of the characters in the communist system, the rectitude of the Church, the belief in "Spain" as an ideal. Gironella loses control of his story at the end though, and ultimately his Falangist sympathies come through, as the leftists embark on a bloody rampage in retaliation for an attempted military coup.

Extremely helpful to this reader were the lists of characters, both fictional and historical, at the end of the novel, as well as the descriptions of the many political factions--and there are a lot of them. I found this translation a little clumsy at times, perhaps a bit too literal, but the novel is well worth your time for a deeper understanding of these complex events.

The Spanish Civil War is neglected in the teaching of World History. Here is your chance to learn and remember what lead to the Spanish Civil War.There are three books in the series,before the war,during and after.You will learn why to this day artists,writers,and even Hollywood will not tell the truth of this awful slaughter of innocent Catholics and freedom loving people.

The Cypresses Believe in God is one of my top five all time favorite works. It is great literature with the fantastic character development. It is political science with the even handed overview of the many political movements in the 1930's (particularly in Spain). This work is a great overview of what led up to the Spanish Civil War. This book also for me gave such a human answer to a question that always nags me..."how could something like the XYZ war happen?" My only regret is that I didn't read this work much earlier in life, or prior to my visits to Spain. The length of the book may scare some people away from reading it...please don't let that stop you. This is one of the few books I mourned being over. I really didn't want it to end. I then purchased the two following books in this trilogy (also fantastic).

This work is highly recommended.

The Cypresses Believe in God is an astonishing depiction of how hatred of religion gradually tears apart human community -- perhaps a warning about America's future as well as an insight into Spain's past.

Gironella is balanced in his critiques. Both conservative and socialist arguments appear to have merit; democratic debates and elections are at first possible; only the Falangists on the far Right and the anarchists on the far Left seem irrational. However, the seed of destruction lies in the endemic malice against all that is connected to the Church, e.g. burnings of churches, violence to innocent seminarians and nuns. This malice provokes a reaction, and that provokes a counter-reaction, finally leading to full Civil War.

My wife and I gave this volume to everyone on our gift list this past Christmas. It is a gripping saga with tremendous significance for human affairs.

The only book I have read in the last few years that measures up to the exquisite character development, historical scope, and moral clarity of this book is The Red Horse. If you're wavering, buy it.

Political without being pedantic, polemical, or didactic. Despite study, the Spanish Civil War remained an enigma; this book clarified matters. As fiction, I came to care for the characters in a way not experienced in a long time.

Two minor issues:

1. I found the preface to be a bit condescending. The author says to understand the book Americans should put aside their narrow ideological definitions (anarchism, socialism, etc.) Instead, we should realize that the Spanish are more enamored of personality than ideology. (Does this mean personality trumps principle? That is not particularly flattering.)

2. SPOILER ALERT - the ending was jarring. After being so invested, it was sad to see most characters meet their demise abruptly. Alas, I suppose that is the nature of civil war.