Customer Reviews

Guernica: A Novel

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have read a lot of Spanish Civil War literature because I have a Ph.D in contemporary Spanish literature. (20th century). From Ramón Sender, to Hemingway, I have studied how this event has been portrayed in literature through the perception of many different authors. I say this not to boast, but to hopefully add a bit of weight to my opinion about this novel.

Dave Boling has written a nearly-perfect book with so many positives that I would recommend it to anyone interested in reading it. What he does so well is characterization. These Basque people come to life and from the pages of this book, the reader can see, smell and practically taste their culture and how it completely defines them. The dialogue between them is playful when it needs to be, poignant when it needs to be and yet seems so natural, as if you, the reader, were eavesdropping on actual conversations. I personally enjoyed the variety of characters (both historical and fictional) and how eventually people from all different nations came together to fight against evil. Reviewers have complained that Picasso wasn't "real" enough and that his character was flat. I wouldn't expect otherwise. Boling uses Picasso as a reference to his painting, and like his masterpiece "Guernica", he is an abstract observer of the fully-developed Basque characters, who are the true center of this novel.

Some have called the novel's conclusion "contrived". Perhaps, but I cared so much about the characters by that point, that I felt the emotional impact of that conclusion. Great books make us feel and think, and this book made me do both.

I don't really want to explain why this book isn't perfect other than by saying that the historical/political context of the novel, in my opinion, could have been handled slightly better. There are a few vignettes that are a bit too random. But, that doesn't matter. The story is beautiful, educational and delivers a memorable message about life.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

"Guernica", a historical saga by Dave Boling, is the kind of novel I enjoy most; it's entertaining and compelling to read and it is also educational. I confess to knowing very little about the Spanish Civil War and even less about Basques and the Basque capitol of Guernica when I began. I know more now.

Boling skillfully unwraps the tale of Justo Ansotegui and his family. Justo is a well-respected farmer and a staunchly Basque. He is a man drawn larger than life, a pillar of his community and a loving husband and father. Justo must call upon all his strength to survive what happens in historic Guernica.

Now here is what I propose: this novel would make a TERRIFIC opera/musical! Along the lines of "Les Miz", "Miss Saigon" and "Evita". It's got all the right ingredients - big themes, history, ethos, pathos, larger than life characters, love, heartbreak, redemption, war, national pride and Nazis for villains! If I wrote opera/musicals I'd be all over this one.

Helpful hint: I went to the internet to see Picasso's famous mural called "Guernica" and it helped me to visualize the painting as described in the novel and added to my reading enjoyment and edification.

On April 26th, 1937 the Nazis bombed the Basque town of Guernica on its market day. Modern scholars estimate about three hundred people were killed (the Basque government put the death toll at over 1600) and the slaughter has come to symbolize civilian suffering during war. The event inspired one of Pablo Picasso's most famous paintings (named for the town) a copy of which hangs on a wall in the United Nations building.

Dave Boling takes a single family, the Ansoteguis, and follows their lineage through the closing years of the 19th century, the rise of Fascism in Spain, and the Spanish Civil War as their people, the Basque, are systematically repressed. Yet this is not a depressing novel. Humor and love manifest in the Ansotegui family, headed by Justo, a larger-than-life Superman known throughout the town for his great strength and tall tales. When asked to confirm that he once carried an ox on his shoulders from his family's farm to town and then celebrated the feat by throwing the animal across the Oka River, Justo admits that it was only a small ox, his path was downhill most of the way, and the wind was with him when he threw the beast. His wife and daughter are both dancers and cheerful, spirited women. Even as war strips the Basque people of food and supplies, the people remain vibrant and united. Pablo Picasso makes several cameo appearances as he works on his Guernica painting. Truthfully, I felt his appearances were an intrusion on the story of the Ansotegui family, and wish he wasn't included. While most of the characters are fully realized, living people, Picasso - the one "real" person in the bunch! - comes off as flat and two-dimensional. But overall it's a beautiful story that highlights both the despair and the hope that comes in humanity's darkest hours.

Guernica, a debut novel by Washington writer Dave Boling, is the tale of two men and their families: Justo Ansotegui, who raised his two brothers and a successful farm after losing both parents, and Miguel Navarro, a fisherman's son too prone to seasickness to be much use on a boat. On another level, it's about the town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War and beginning of World War Two, and the Basque people who proudly held on to their traditions at a time when their language and customs were outlawed by the Spanish government. Boling portrays the Basque community with depth and a character arc equal to that which one would expect of an individual character.

Guernica is also the story behind the painting which shares its name. Picasso's mural was a memorial to the victims of the bombing of Guernica--the trial run of a Nazi tactic now used by militaries world-wide: demoralizing the populace by taking out civilians rather than military targets. Within weeks of the bombing, Picasso painted the horror of this senseless attack in shades of gray on an 11' x 25' canvas. Seventy years later, Boling brings both the painting and its subject to life through the written word.

By the end of the prologue, the author had captured my attention by presenting intriguing characters in a well-defined landscape and time. His writing is clear and confident and he does what I like best in historical fiction. He tells a fascinating story about a place and time without pages of fact. The story and characters themselves introduce all the elements of the reality. well done!

On April 26, 1937, the German Condor Legion bombed the bejeesus out of a small Basque town in Spain called Guernica.
Hitler had "loaned" his deadly Luftwaffe to the soon-to-be facist dictator Franco who was battling for control during the devastating Spanish Civil War. No one knows for certain how many civilians died that day. Guernica had no air defenses and it was market day in the center of town. What is known is that the majority of the town was completely destroyed and a new age of attacking civilian targets was ushered in.

Dave Boling's debut novel Guernica is an intensely personal examination of the destruction of a town. Rather than take on the entire political spectrum that led to the bombing of Guernica, Boling examines the lives of two families who are Guernica. Like families the world over, they live, they love, and in this case, they suffer losses unimaginable in the Western world today.

This is a character driven novel and Boling fills the novel with complex, rich characters, making the reader a part of the community. You feel as if you have known these characters all of your life...their joys are your joys, their pain is your pain.

You should be aware that the passage relating the actual bombing is, perhaps, one of the most intense scenes on paper. Be prepared for tears, anger and excruiciating anguish. The jarring transition from character-centric to stark destruction masterfully mirrors the transformation of Guernica from a sleepy, peaceful town to a raging inferno.

Don't look for a happy ending here. Thankfully, however, neither does Boling offer up a gratuitous sob-fest. He sees it through to the end and you can expect a healthy dose of realism. Anything less would have cheapened the novel.

Highly, highly recommended. This novel is one that will stay on your permanent shelves (right next to a box of Kleenex) to be read and re-read. There is a good reason this book won the 2009 Pacific Northwest Book Award for Fiction.

If you would like to learn more about the broader political situation of the Spanish Civil War and Spain's role during World War II, pair this novel with C.J. Sansom's novel, Winter in Madrid. Both novels would make the perfect gift for your favorite history buff.

If all you know about Guernica is the Picasso painting, you owe it to yourself to read this book. First time novelist, Dave Boling, has done an excellent job creating four believable generations of a Basque family living near the town of Guernica in the years before and after the infamous Nazi bombing raid.

From the time local inhabitants were making cave paintings, members of the Ansotegui family were living on the land that became the family farm, Errotabarri. We meet Pascual Ansotegui and his three sons one night in 1893 as they experience a family tragedy that will shape their destiny for generations to come. We follow the story of the three boys, Justo, Josepe, and Xabier from their childhood through their middle adult years. The reader learns to care about the fate of these boys, and the men they become.

At the tender age of 15, Justo, the eldest brother, takes on the responsibility of caring for his two younger brothers and the family land. We feel for him as he struggles to shoulder his burdens and do the best he can. We rejoice with him when he finds a wife he loves and as he raises a daughter he adores. We delight with him as his daughter, Miren, grows from a happy infant to a charming young woman with a husband and baby of her own. Caring about the Ansotegui, their extended families, and neighbors makes the inevitable events of the Spanish Civil War, and especially the events at Guernica seem even more tragic.

The author weaves actual historic figures into the story of his fictional Basque characters - Franco, Manfred and Wolfram Von Richtofen, Pablo Picasso, and President Jose Antonio Aguirre were real people. And some of the fictional characters, especially Father Xabier Ansotegui, are based on historical figures. This lends the story an air of authenticity and credibility.

For those unfamiliar with the Spanish Civil War, the cast of players can be confusing. There were republicans, socialists, fascists, nationalists, etc. This book does a good job of illustrating what was going on with a minimum of political posturing.

Five stars to this very engaging book. Highly recommended!

This is an excellent first novel by a very skillful author. The author knows how to tell a story and holds the readers interest. The novel started a little slowly, but once I got into the story I couldn't put the book down. The history is interesting, and the morality of the story unfolds without the author preaching about the horrors of war. He simply recounts the events without making value judgements; he doesn't have to. Our involvement with the characters guarantees that we will suffer along with them This is an excellent read for anyone. Highly recommended.

If you know the history of the Picasso painting that shares the name with this book and are aware that it was created to depict the German bombing of the Basque city of Guernica, Spain on April 26, 1937, the climatic event that occurs in the middle of this novel will come as no surprise. The rise of the fascists and the Spanish Civil War and the beginning of World War II is always present in the background of this story. People start to disappear, rumors of terrible happenings in other towns are talked about, neighbors begin to turn on neighbors as times become harder and food is almost impossible to find.

But if that all sounds a little break, don't fear. Because while these things are a part of first time novelist Dave Boling's story "Guernica", this is most certainly not a bleak story. No, this is a love story, from start to finish. At times, a funny, moving and uplifting love story, at times heartbreaking. The love of parents and their children, the love of siblings, the love of spouses, the love of friendship...the love of ones people and ones homeland. Ultimately, a hopeful and promising love story.

At the center of the tale is Justo Ansotegui, the oldest of three siblings, whose mother dies shortly after the birth of his youngest brother. When his father, unable to deal with her death, gradually abandons the boys and the farm they live on, young Justo rise to the occasion to care for them all. He grows to be the strongest man in the region, respected by all and, in time, feared by a few. One brother becomes a fisherman, the other a priest and Justo meets, falls in love with and marries the beautiful Mariangeles. They have a daughter, Miren, who is renown for her loveliness and kindness and skill at the traditional Basque dances. When she in turns marries the woodworker Miguel and has a daughter, they form the three generations of the Ansotegui family that will face the horrible events of that April day and it's aftermath.

Happily, we have the very strong Justo to hang on to as we are dragged through this turbulant epic and benefit from what he discovers about family and home and love.
"Justo learned from Miguel that if you lose someone you love, you need to redistribute your feelings rather than surrender them. You give them to whoever is left, and the rest you turn toward something that will keep you moving forward."
Justo, his family and the Basque people moved forward from that savage and atrocious time and we are privileged to accompany them on a part of the journey.

This awesome novel is universally accessible to all forward thinkers who believe in the power of humanity as a whole to change the future for the next generation. Never have I read such a novel that has more compassion and love for its characters. The theme of the horrors of war and tyranny of fascists transcends all cultures and all times. No other book that I know gives a better grasp of the power of vision and humanity to all those who are struggling for freedom in all corners of Earth. The insights offered will lead to a lifetime of memories that are just as real as reality. This first time novel by Dave Boling serves as an inspiration to all who seek the best for humankind and who aspire to peace and respect for all creation.