Soldiers of Salamis A Novel

by Cercas, Javier; McLean, Anne

• ISBN13: 9781582343846
• ISBN10: 1582343845
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-02-07
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Summary

Spain's best-selling book of the year-an award-winning, wholly original and absorbing work of fiction by a modern master, at whose heart lies an investigation into the nature of historical truth. In the final moments of the Spanish Civil War, fifty prominent Nationalist prisoners face a firing squad. Among them is Rafael Saacute;nchez Mazas-writer, fascist, and founder of the Spanish Falange. As the machine guns begin to fire, Saacute;nchez Mazas escapes into the forest. When a militiaman discovers his hiding place, Saacute;nchez Mazas faces death for the second time that day. But the unknown soldier simply turns and walks away. Saacute;nchez Mazas becomes a national hero and ultimately a minister in Franco's first government. The soldier disappears into history. Sixty years later, as Cercas sifts through the evidence to establish what really happened, he realizes that the true hero may not be the one who was celebrated, but, rather, the soldier who chose not to shoot. Who was he? Why did he spare Saacute;nchez Mazas? Every answer Cercas uncovers leads to another question in this powerful and elegantly constructed novel about truth, memory, and war. Javier Cercaswas born in 1962. He is a novelist, short-story writer and essayist, whose books includeEl moacute;vil(The Motive, 1987, revised 2003),El inquilino(The Tenant, 1989),El vientre de la ballena(The Belly of the Whale, 1997) andRelatos reales(True Tales, 2000). In the 1980s he taught for two years at the University of Illinois, and since 1989 has been a lecturer in Spanish Literature at the University of Gerona.Soldiers of Salamisis being published in fifteen languages, and the film adaptation was released in 2003. Anne McLeanhas translated Latin American and Spanish novels, short stories, memoirs and other writings by authors including Carmen Martiacute;n Gaite, Orlando Gonzaacute;lez Esteva, Julio Cortaacute;zar, Paula Varsavsky, Ignacio Padilla and Luis Sepuacute;lveda. In the final moments of the Spanish Civil War, as the remnants of the Republican army retreat north into exile, fifty prominent Nationalist prisoners are taken out to be shot. Among them is Rafael Saacute;nchez Mazaswriter, fascist and founder of the Spanish Falange. As the machine guns begin to fire, Saacute;nchez Mazas takes advantage of the commotion and escapes into the forest. When his hiding place is discovered by a militiaman, he faces death for the second time that day. But the unknown soldier simply looks him in the eye, turns and walks away. The writer becomes a national hero and ultimately a minister in Franco's first government. The soldier disappears into history. As Cercas sifts through the evidence to establish what really happened, he realizes that the hero of his story may not be Saacute;nchez Mazas at all, but the soldier who chose not to shoot him. Who was he? Why did he spare him? Might he still be alive? In this elegantly constructed novel, told with self-deprecating, melancholy humor, Javier Cercas has created an original work of literaturea "true tale" that is at once an investigation of historical truth, an essay on heroism and a celebration of the power of fiction. "The book is magnificent, in fact, one of the best I've read in a long time, deserving of innumerable readers."Mario Vargas Llosa "With irresistible directness and delicacy, Javier Cercas engages in a quick-witted, tender quest for truth and the possibility of reconciliation in history, in our everyday liveswhich happens to be the theme of most great European fiction. He has a fascinating tale to tell, which happens (mostly) to be true. He has written a marvelous novel."Susan Sontag "He has succeeded, with one perfectly crafted book, in single-handedly redeem

Author Biography

Javier Cercas taught is a lecturer in Spanish Literature at the University of Gerona.

Table of Contents

"This book is magnificent...one of the best I've read in a long time."-Mario Vargas Llosa, El Pais

"With irresistible directness and delicacy, Javier Cercas engages in a quick-witted, tender quest for truth and the possibility of reconciliation in history, in our everyday lives - which happens to be the theme of most great European fiction. He has a fascinating tale to tell, which happens (mostly) to be true. He has written a marvelous novel."-Susan Sontag

"Cercas has succeeded, with one perfectly crafted book, in single-handedly redeeming the epic genre."-Alberto Manguel