The Mule [Paperback]

Juan Eslava Galan (Author), Lisa Dillman (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0553385089 | ISBN-13: 978-0553385083 | Publication Date: February 26, 2008

Critically acclaimed throughout Spain, and now available for the first time in English, this tender, satirical novel vividly captures the intrinsic absurdity of war—and the joys of true friendship in a place where it is difficult to distinguish man from beast.

Juan Castro Pérez is a simple muleteer caught in the brutal Spanish Civil War. Never far from his closest companion—a stray mule named Valentina whom he is determined to keep for himself after the war—Juan engages in the low-brow drinking escapades, long shots at love, and an otherwise droning existence shared by his compatriots.

As he lies, cheats, and steals to protect Valentina during his improbable odyssey home, Juan unwittingly “fights” for both sides—and becomes a reluctant and unlikely hero of the people, exploited by opportunistic journalists desperately trying to convince the Spanish public that the war is under control, when it is anything but….

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This light Spanish Civil War story follows the romantic and military misadventures of a perennially put-upon muleteer stuck fighting for a cause he doesn't believe in. Juan Castro Pérez stumbles on a stray mule (he names her Valentina) and smuggles her into his army regiment; his plan is to bring her to his family once the war is over. Though Castro sympathizes with the nationalist forces, his region is solidly Communist and he's forced to enlist on that side, where he, like many of his comrades, does his utmost to avoid combat and get back home; one of his more engaging exploits involves wooing a pensioner's daughter. He eventually defects to the nationalists, and when Castro and Valentina inadvertently cross paths with a group of Communist soldiers, an unarmed Castro thinks he's doomed until the soldiers order him at gunpoint to take them prisoner so they can survive the war. A journalist catches wind of the incident and twists the story into a morale-boosting puff piece that turns Castro into a poster boy for Franco's cause. Castro's dedication to Valentina provides the heartfelt through line to this winsome war story and adds a dose of heartbreak at the novel's close. (Feb.)
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Review

“An excellent, lighthearted piece of literature.”—El Periódico

“A novel of intrigue and espionage that cleverly combines history with fiction.”—ABC Cultural

“Galan’s portrait of war’s brutality and absurdity echoes both Hemingway and Heller, but he gives the narrative his own cynical and idiosyncratic spin.”—Kirkus Reviews

“It’s a wonderful book…A dark comedy, deceptively simple and genuinely Spanish.”—Martin Cruz Smith, author of Stalin’s Ghost: An Arkady Renko Novel

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (February 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553385089
• ISBN-13: 978-0553385083
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,899,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding the dutiful subaltern in a terrific prose., May 30, 2011

By 

Dennis R. Hidalgo (Blacksburg, Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Mule (Paperback)

This is a ubiquitous subject in Spain: the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. This story is about a humble packer who left the Revolutionary side to join Franco's insurgent nationalist army. This work is a fascinating story, which tries to understand how a person who has so much to lose by joining the nationalists still takes such a decision. What I found attractive of this work is that it helps understand how people would follow ideas, and even sacrifice themselves, for causes that are harmful to them. Galán writes with elegance, humor and a philosophical sophistication hardly found on topics of this nature. The Spanish version is much better, of course. Yet the translation captures some of the linguistic turns and the power of language that Galán pours on this historical novel.

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Shaggy Dog Tale, September 20, 2009

By 

Joseph L. Wieczynski "Professor Emeritus, Vir... (Sarasota, Florida) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Mule (Paperback)

Perez-Reverte must be a good friend of this author, given his warm endorsement. It is a well-written work, with some fine passages, but very trite; a Spanish take on Catch 22, The Good Soldier Schweik and a number of other anti-war morality tales, with little originality. If you can discern the metaphysical importance of the mule to this story, you're much more astute than I am. But screen writers will have their usual way with this plot, when the projected movie is filmed, and who knows what will emerge from that process. A good script writer might, for once, improve the original greatly.