Customer Reviews

The Return: A Novel

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The body of this book consists the story of the Ramirez family of Granada during the Spanish Republic, the Civil War and the ensuing years. It is a tremendously powerful narrative and cannot fail to stir the emotions. The detail reflects the huge effort that the author must have put into her research.

The vehicle for the main story, which is the journey of Sonia, as she tries to fill the gap left in her life by her empty marriage with an adventure into flamenco dancing in Andalucía in the company of her old school friend, is just too improbable to be believable. It is even more incredible that the reader is expected to believe that Sonia hears the whole story of the Ramirez family from the waiter of a back-street Grenadine café in a SINGLE day. As if this weren't enough of an integrity challenge, we are further asked to believe the strong connections between the Ramirez family and Sonia, which are inevitably revealed towards the end.

Despite all of this, The Return, is just such a wonderfully moving story, and every single atom of the trials and tribulations of the Ramirez family is totally believable. In fact, it was so believable that I could almost feel the pain and passion that I imagined the members of that family must have felt. I have always been a big fan of historical fiction as it really brings the past to life in a way that dry school books could never do. This story, with all of its sadness and joy, is just SO moving.

I strongly recommend this book to everyone I know, as I am sure that they will not be disappointed. To those of you reading this review who are unknown to me, I say, PLEASE read it! If my review sent you the wrong way, just add a comment to that effect.

Synopsis:
Sonia visits Granada to celebrate a friend's birthday with a dance class. Unfamiliar with the city's past and the brutality under Franco's regime, a chance encounter at a neighborhood cafe introduces Sonia to the brave and complex story of the Rodriguez family's suffering and survival through the Spanish civil war.

Seventy years earlier, Concha and Pablo owned and managed the same cafe with no notion of the danger and pain that would soon visit their family. Their eldest son, Antonio, is an idealistic young teacher. Their second child, Ignacio, is a star matador. Their only daughter, Mercedes only loves to dance and would spend her days honing her skills with their third child, Emilio, a gifted musician. But when Ignacio is seduced by General Franco's policies, the civil war tears the family apart.

Book Review:
Beautifully written, The Return transports you to the Spain during the complex and extraordinary time of the Spanish Civil War. You will be drawn in as Concha and Pablo try to keep the Rodriguez family together and safe. The children battle their fates. Bullfights, Spanish dancers, Federico Garcia Lorca, warring brothers, loving parents, and star-crossed lovers, the story offers beauty, drama and violence. The stories of love and sorrow will linger with you for a long time.

Publisher: : Harper Paperbacks (October 6, 2009), 416 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher and TLC Book Tours.

After being blown away by "The Island" I immediately ordered "The Return" and I am not disappointed. I am now an official Victoria Hislop fan. Her novels are to be savored and enjoyed.

"The Return" begins in recent times in England. Readers are introduced to a middle aged woman named Sonia. This part is very similiar to "The Island" as both heroines are having relationship issues and are both facing similiar difficult choices.. basically "stay with this jerk or leave" type choices. I found parts of the book regarding Sonia rather predictable but that did not deter me. Sonia and her friend take up salsa dancing and after finding some old pictures of her mother and taking a trip to Spain, Sonia becomes fascinated with the story of the Ramirez family.

The middle part of the book is about the Ramirez family and Spain's Civil War in the 1930s. There is a mother, Concha and father, Pablo. They run a cafe and for a while things are wonderful in their life. Their oldest son, Antonio is a teacher. Their middle son, Ignacio is a bull fighter. Their youngest son, Emilio is slowly taking over the cafe and has a passion for music. The daughter, Mercedes is a talented flamenco dancer. The Ramirez family's world shatters with the beginning of the war as their sons oppose each other, betray each other, and one by one, the family members are arrested, killed, or face some life changing complication due to the war.

There is a romance between Mercedes and a guitarist, Javier. She spends the duration of the war searching for her love and taking many risks to find him. She never loses her love of dancing tho and she brightens many a person's day with her skills. Even in times of war, one must find joy and express it.

The last part of the novel takes readers back to present day England and Sonia must make a difficult choice after making some surprising revelations. Will the story of the Ramirez family inspire her somehow?

A beautiful novel and a fabulous look at the life of Spain, the passion behind flamenco, the risks behind bullfighting, and the trials families face in civil war.

Just like an appreciative audience watching a flamenco dancer tap and twirl or a bullfighter swing his cape, I say "Ole! Ole!" to this fine novel.

The Return is a well-researched and interesting view of the Spanish Civil War, cleverly connected with present day. While the outcome for the main character is predictable, this does not detract from the interest in her journey back into her family's past, to a period that is little recalled in current literature. Very enjoyable.

The Return is a beautiful novel of the Spanish Civil War, infused with dance and relationships, the sound of castanets and guitar contrasted with gunfire and screams. As with her previous novel, The Island, Victoria Hislop surrounds the story with a tale of modern womanhood in search of identity. This time a woman is questioning her marriage, finding unexpected solace in dance classes, and wondering at the incongruity of an independent woman enjoying the apparent subservience of being "led" around the dance-floor.

Visiting Spain with a childhood friend, Sonia Cameron is drawn to a small café where she meets and befriends the elderly Miguel. Photos of dancers and bullfighters on the walls intrigue her and she strikes up a conversation that will haunt her on returning to England and swiftly draw her back. Miguel, who lived through the horrors of civil war, reveals the stories behind the pictures and the café's former owners; meanwhile Sonia learns the truth behind the dance, that both will lead and both follow, and that strength can be the quietest gift.

I knew little of the Spanish Civil War before reading this book. The author again delves into well-researched history, just as she did with The Island, and the story is told through a mix of historical and closely personal viewpoints, full of detailed facts and human pain and joy. A family grows up; siblings leave the nest; politics and war leave their deep wounds, and a world is changed. Somehow I'd failed to notice how closely the Second World War followed on the events in Spain, or how they were connected. I hadn't realized how closely the Catholic Church became involved. I hadn't even considered which side was which. The novel reveals the history and background, infusing it with human interest and drawing the reader in to care for the family's tragedies. But the greatest scenes, for me, are the dance and the lingering touch of dance on relationships; the longing to dance, the emotion of dance, the truths that dance expresses that don't need words.

I enjoyed this book better than The Island, I think because the history and point-of-view changes felt more natural. But both are fascinating and inspiring reads, not just for history, but also for a woman's touch and the truth of identity. A long, involving novel, The Return is definitely recommended.



Disclosure: I borrowed this book from a friend of my mother.

Fascinating book written about the time before and during Franco's reign. Charming story of fortitude and love.

This book was excellent - the author Victoria Hislop has only written two books - her first was The Island and it was an excellent read also - can't wait for her third book -

Well, first of all, the writing was good. The book flowed, and I didn't feel any lagging, which is good.

The things I LIKED about it - a very good history lesson about the Franco regime and the civil war that tore apart Spain in the 30's. The characters were believable and easy to invest in. And although I saw the ending from a mile away, it was developed and presented in a very sweet manner, and in no way detracted from the impact.

The things I did NOT like - wayyyyy too much on the war, suffering, and nauseating details. I picked this up because I wanted a good love story. It is there...but buried beneath the gruesome rubble of the war. I am not diminishing the facts, or the suffering one whit, I just didn't expect, nor wanted that in overwhelming and graphic detail. I also felt the "passion" for the dance was somewhat missing. There were some superb passages, but not nearly enough romance for my taste.

I am glad I slogged through the middle. I almost quit twice. I would recommend this, but only to a very short list of people I know would appreciate it.

I found this book very similiar to "Sarah's Key," by Tatiana de Rosnay, where you have an extremely thin modern setting framing a historical plotline. Hislop's description of the Spanish Civil War is detailed and heart-wrenching, and as a flamenco enthusiast I loved her description of baila, canta and guitarra. Ultimately, I had to agree that the modern frame was distracting and the writing could have been far more compelling. The plot "twist" at the end was telegraphed way before it actually happened, so it came as no surprise. Read it for the historical elements, but don't expect a brilliant, cohesive novel.

I approached this novel as a stranger to Spanish history and culture. I had heard of Flamenco but knew it as just a dance, and the Spain of today I imagined as an enchanting, lively party house with bullfights and celebrations that went on till early morning. But every country has its scars.

THE RETURN begins with two English women entranced by a mesmerizing Flamenco performance in Granada, Spain, but they are unable to understand the tale of sorrow and anger the dancers weave. The Englishwoman Sonia, on the ropes with her fraying marriage back at home, finds herself attracted to the story behind the Flamenco dance and to the people of Spain. While her best friend explores the nightlife and charming Spanish men, Sonia takes a different path to know Spain, one that will lead her through narrow cobblestone streets and old cafes; to the man Miguel and his haunting tale of the horrors endured during the Spanish Civil War. Sonia's Spanish mother once declared that she would never return to Spain while the dictator Franco was in power. And now Sonia discovers why...

Hislop creates a story that is both enlightening and distressing, showing the reader exactly what went on in pre-World War II Spain in the days leading up to the fascist Franco's rule- a rule that would last forty years- all from a family's viewpoint. Their story is heartbreaking and the injustice they suffer sobering; the 2006 movie Pan's Labyrinth gives a taste of what the Spanish Fascist regime was like in an isolated setting, but THE RETURN explores the collapsing of the Republic into a merciless war on a national scale. In the middle of it all, one young Flamenco dancer strives to be reunited with her lover, but the destruction of her childhood world around her will force her to choose between the fanciful romance of her youth, or life. The one thing she refuses to give up- even with the fascists' severe taboos against it- is dance.

I found sympathetic protagonists in both Sonia's contemporary story and Mercedes's tragic tale in the past. Although the dialogue is stiff and halting, Hislop's writing comes alive when she describes the streets of Granada and the terrible beauty of the Flamenco dance, giving the reader a wondrous image to hold, even to one such as I who has never seen Flamenco performed. Sorrow and passion run solidly throughout this narrative, from the quiet scenes of sharing cafe con leche with an elderly cafe owner (after finishing this story, I was craving cafe con leche!) to the agonizing moments when one of our starving protagonists is forced to build a monument to the man who tore his family asunder. This is a story that will leave you with new heart for the peoples of Spain, and next time you hear about one of those crazy all-nighters in Barcelona, you will think that after all they've been through, the Spanish people definitely deserve a moment to smile.