The Return

August 17, 2009
For her follow-up to international bestseller The Island
, British author Hislop has friends Sonia and Maggie jetting off for flamenco lessons in Granada, Spain. Sonia is escaping monotony and a souring marriage to an older man while Maggie is celebrating her 35th birthday. The trip proves an odyssey of discovery for Sonia, who over a morning cup of coffee is mesmerized by an elderly cafe owner's stories of the Spanish Civil War and the Ramirez family who once owned the cafe and were torn apart during the time of Franco and the upheaval of war. Most intriguing was the story of Mercedes, whose passion for flamenco dancing was matched only by her love for renowned guitarist Javier Montero with whom she performed. Separated from her fractured family, she set out to search for Javier in the chaos of Civil War Spain. Dance holds a place of importance in the tale, especially when Sonia learns the truth about her own mother in a twist that adds suspense to the romance and familial drama. The well-done historical background is a rewarding plus in this fast-paced account of love's power through generations.

September 15, 2009
Can a London girl in a miserable marriage find happiness taking dancing lessons in southern Spain?

Partly to escape the dourness of urban life and partly at the insistence of her old friend Maggie, Sonia embarks on a semi-spontaneous trip to Granada to literally kick up her heels. Getting away from her stuffy, usually drunk husband James is an added inducement. Sonia's sweet father Jack married a Spanish woman in the 1950s, so Iberian fire is to some extent already in her blood. During her brief initial visit to Granada, Sonia finds a spiritual home. While exploring the city, she comes across El Barril, a cozy caf run by Miguel, a survivor of the Spanish Civil War, and is intrigued by some posters and photographs of Mercedes, a flamenco dancer, and Ignacio, a young bullfighter. Sonia's jaunt to Granada frames the main narrative: Miguel's long reminiscence of life in Spain shortly before and during the Civil War. It turns out that Mercedes and Ignacio were children of the caf's former owners, Concha and Pablo Ram"rez, whose family was torn apart by conflicting loyalties during the war. Hislop (The Island, 2007) uses the Ram"rezes to symbolize and personalize the conflict. Miguel takes us back into the past. Along the way he traces the fates of the Pablo, Concha and their four children. Pablo sacrificed himself rather than let his wife go to prison for listening to subversive radio broadcasts; one of their sons was jailed for his sexual orientation as well as his left-leaning politics; Mercedes traveled across the country in search of the love of her life, a flamenco guitarist whose gypsy blood made him of interest to the fascists. Meanwhile, Sonia discovers some secrets that link her family to the Ramirezes.

A complex, beautiful tale of loss, loyalty and the past recaptured.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

September 1, 2009
The electrifying scope and startling horror of the Spanish Civil War is unfurled in mesmerizing detail to Sonia, a young British woman who journeys to Granada to pursue her passion for Spanish dance. Through her impromptu friendship with the courtly older gentleman who serves her morning cafe con leche, Sonia learns the story of the once-proud and influential Ramirez family: parents Concha and Pablo, who ran a local caf'; their bullfighter son Ignacio, the darling of Spains ruling class; Antonio, the idealist; Emilio, a brooding musician; and Mercedes, a prodigy flamenco dancer in love with celebrated guitarist Javier. As each family members tortured history within the violent context of Francisco Francos oppressive regime is revealed, Sonia confirms long-suspected truths about her own family, herself, and the fragile state of her marriage. Despite tidying things up too neatly with an implausibly coincidental denouement, Hislop nevertheless weaves an intricate, elaborately detailed narrative with all the precision of a dedicated historian and all the passion of a dewy-eyed romantic.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)