Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* It's 1957 and aspiring photographer Daniel Matheson is visiting Spain with his Texas oil tycoon father. Daniel is eager for the opportunity to flesh out his portfolio for a photography contest—what would be more prize-worthy than photos of daily life in notoriously secretive Spain?—but he gets repeated warnings, some quite aggressive, against looking too closely. Another thing Daniel doesn't bank on is Ana, an arrestingly beautiful maid at the Castellana Hilton, where he's staying with his parents. As their affection deepens, so, too, do their differences: Ana, daughter of executed anti-Fascists, lives a tightly constrained existence, and Daniel has unprecedented freedom in her country and can't quite wrap his head around the danger he puts her in. In another meticulously researched novel, Sepetys (Salt to the Sea, 2015) offers a captivating glimpse into Franco's Spain, a region awash in secrets and misinformation. As Sepetys slowly unspools hard truths about the era, such as the prevalence of babies stolen from poor, Republican families, the facts become increasingly impossible to ignore, both for the reader and for Daniel. The romance ultimately takes center stage, but the troubling events in the margins add terrifyingly high stakes to Daniel and Ana's relationship. For all her extensive, careful research (evident in the back matter), Sepetys doesn't overwhelm readers with facts; rather, she tells a moving story made even more powerful by its placement in a lesser-known historical moment. Captivating, deft, and illuminating historical fiction. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A new novel from best-selling, award-winning Sepetys is always news, but this latest has a hefty promotional campaign to bolster it up as well. Grades 9-12. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.
BookPage Reviews
Be our guest
Ruta Sepetys' stunning new novel, The Fountains of Silence, takes place during a period rarely explored in young adult literature: Franco's Spain. Here, the beloved YA writer reflects on her invitation to the table of history.
We gave you the haunted room. After all, we know you love history.
That's what the hotel clerk in New Orleans said when she gave me the key. I do love history, and of course I want to hear all about local ghosts. But I don't want to sleep with them. I wasn't over the moon in Berlin either when I discovered my resting place had once been the office of Nazi propaganda henchman Joseph Goebbels. My host was quick to reassure: Yes, lots of history here! Come, be our guest, and don't worry, Goebbels shot his wife and six children in a bunker. None of that happened here.
But—what did happen here?
As an author of historical fiction, that's a common query of mine when traveling. And often my next question is, Why don't we know more about this? Those questions were on my mind when I set off for Spain to research The Fountains of Silence.
The setting is Madrid, 1957. An American family from Dallas lands in the Spanish capital for a mix of business and family bonding. But things take a dark turn when the 18-year-old son unknowingly stumbles into a shadow of danger.
Although I had read numerous works on the Spanish Civil War, I knew little of Francisco Franco's regime and the postwar dictatorship that gripped the country for 36 years. In the 1950s, glossy brochures promoted Spain as a welcoming land of sunshine and wine. But I soon learned that beneath the midcentury heat and snapping fingers of flamenco lived a hidden truth: Many in Spain suffered in silence.
And so came the questions. What happened in Spain, and why don't we know more about it?
I spent seven years researching The Fountains of Silence, crisscrossing the country for interviews and information. I wanted facts but also rich, cultural detail. When I inquired where most Americans stayed in Madrid during the dictatorship, the answer came quickly: the glorious, infamous Castellana Hilton.
Be our guest, a voice whispered.
With or without ghosts, an old hotel is a house of secrets. Hidden history breathes through each room. Wallpaper curls, inviting you to peel back a layer or two.
The first Hilton property in Europe was not in London or Paris. No, Conrad Hilton planted his first corporate flag across the Atlantic in Spain—amid a fascist dictatorship. Formerly a palace, the grand eight-floor structure was rebuilt by Hilton's crews as the Castellana Hilton, and the advertising team dubbed the property "Your Castle in Spain."
The former Hilton in Madrid is now affiliated with a different luxury brand. With the assistance of my Spanish publisher, I reached out to the marketing department at the hotel, and the manager generously replied. My heart thundered as bait burst from her email:
Many stories. Materials in the archives. Be our guest. Private tour, if you'd like.
If I'd like? I couldn't get there fast enough.
Over the course of several stays in Madrid, I immersed myself in the world of the hotel. I followed my fictional characters through the narrow hallways, crept alongside them into the dark basements and accompanied them down wrinkled side streets.
In its heyday, the Castellana Hilton was a magnet for VIPs and media. The accommodating staff looked the other way when Ava Gardner lured a bellhop into her milk bath. They even tolerated actor Marlon Brando when he slaughtered live ducks in his suite.
So many salacious stories! My research notebook brimmed with scribbles and secrets. My phone tipped to capacity with photos. The details were all so incredibly rich and colorful. How would I ever decide what to include and exclude from the story? And then the words whispered back at me: Be our guest.
When writing historical fiction, I often wonder, what right do we have to history other than our own? If someone is generous enough to share their story, I am a guest within the archives of their history and memory. And that's a sacred place.
So I strive for balance. Sometimes pomp and circumstance is appropriate for a chapter. But sometimes it's not. Sometimes being a guest comes with responsibility—in this case, a commitment to historical truth and those who experienced it.
Most Spaniards never saw the likes of Ava Gardner, nor bellied up to the bar with Brando. Many lie in unmarked graves. Even among those who survived the Spanish Civil War and dictatorship, many never had a chance to tell their stories.
Historical novels blend fact with fiction. They allow us to enter the past and look through the eyes of those it affected. When that happens, we are guests at history's table. We're given keys to a hidden door and the opportunity to keep it open. If we do, dark corners are suddenly illuminated. Progress through awareness is possible, and—most importantly—those who have suffered will not be forgotten.
ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our review of The Fountains of Silence.
Copyright 2019 BookPage Reviews.Horn Book Guide Reviews
Sepetys's riveting and exemplary historical epic examines the enduring effects of the Spanish Civil War through the perspectives of four young people living under the shadow of Franco's fascist dictatorship in 1957 Madrid. Via lively characters and short, swiftly paced chapters, Sepetys thoroughly and sensitively explores the social, economic, and political issues that plagued postwar Spain, including the selling of stolen infants. An author's note and photo gallery are appended. Bib., glos. Copyright 2020 Horn Book Guide Reviews.
Horn Book Magazine Reviews
Sepetys's riveting historical epic examines the enduring effects of the Spanish Civil War through the perspectives of four young people living under the shadow of Franco's fascist dictatorship in 1957 Madrid. Ana and Rafael are siblings whose Republican educator parents were murdered for opposing Franco's Nationalist party. Now, almost twenty years later, the family still struggles. Ana is a maid in an American-style hotel, while Rafael splits his time between working in a slaughterhouse and digging graves. They earn pennies even as Franco's government grows rich off American tourism and oil industries. Their cousin Puri, a loyal fascist, is a caregiver at a Catholic orphanage, where she is increasingly disturbed by some troubling discoveries concerning the infants in her charge. Daniel, an aspiring American photojournalist whose mother is from Spain and father is a Texas oil baron, befriends Ana and Rafael and begins to question everything he's been told about Spain and its pretty façade—especially after he and Ana fall in love. Through lively characters and short, swiftly paced chapters permeated with elements of mystery and suspense, Sepetys thoroughly and sensitively explores the vast social, economic, and political issues that plagued postwar Spain, including the selling of stolen Republican infants to Nationalist families. Excerpts from newspapers, government documents, and interviews from and about the time add another layer of veracity. Back matter includes an author's note, an extensive bibliography, information on sources, a glossary of Spanish words and phrases, and a photo gallery. An exemplary work of historical fiction. jennifer hubert swan September/October p.100 Copyright 2019 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews
The pitiless dictatorship of Francisco Franco examined through the voices of four teenagers: one American and three Spaniards. The Spanish Civil War lasted from 1936-1939, but Franco held Spain by its throat for 36 years. Sepetys (Salt to the Sea, 2016, etc.) begins her novel in 1957. Daniel is a white Texan who wants to be a photojournalist, not an oilman; Ana is trying to work her way to respectability as a hotel maid; her brother, Rafael, wants to erase memories of an oppressive boys' home; and Puri is a loving caregiver for babies awaiting adoption—together they provide alternating third-person lenses for viewing Spain during one of its most brutally repressive periods. Their lives run parallel and intersect as each tries to answer questions about truth and the path ahead within a regime that crushes any opposition, murders dissidents, and punishes their families while stealing babies to sell to parents with accepted political views. This formidable story will haunt those who ask hard questions about the past as it reveals the hopes and dreams of individuals in a nation trying to lie its wa y to the future. Meticulous research is presented through believable, complex characters on the brink of adulthood who personalize the questions we all must answer about our place in the world. A stunning novel that exposes modern fascism and elevates human resilience. (author's note, research and sources, glossary, photographs) (Historical fiction. 15-adult) Copyright Kirkus 2019 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Sepetys (
School Library Journal Reviews
Voice of Youth Advocates Reviews
It is 1957, and eighteen-year-old Ana works at the Castellana Hilton in Madrid, helping her family survive under the fascist regime of the dictator General Francisco Franco. Daniel, the son of an oil tycoon, is spending the summer learning about the country of his mother's birth. Although they are from separate worlds, Ana and Daniel feel an instant connection. While Ana is afraid of getting too close and possibly causing problems for her family, Daniel learns to confront his own privilege. A budding photojournalist, he wants to use his pictures to tell the hidden story of Madrid and possibly win a journalism scholarship. Daniel soon discovers that secrecy runs deep and he does not realize that some of the choices his family makes will have long-term effects for his family. Everyone has a story to tell, and Sepetys captures an era that is not often written about. Character development is an integral part of the over-five-hundred-page tome. Told from different point of views, the story flows smoothly. The setting becomes a character itself. The clouds of secrecy and poverty—interspersed with a story of love, hope, and redemption—enthralls readers. The story is well researched and includes an author note, a research and sources section, a glossary, and a section of pictures that are integral to the story. The Fountains of Silence will make a good addition to any library, and readers who enjoy historical fiction will find that Sepetys has once again brought history to life.—Elizabeth Nebeker. 5Q 4P J S Copyright 2019 Voya Reviews.