Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Winter in Madrid by C J Sansom
I found this an excellent and interesting
read. The author manages to convey a
grim picture of Madrid following the Spanish civil war and the harshness of
Franco’s reign in an atmospheric and realistic way. It was a bit slow to start, but I persevered
and was hooked. The story follows the main character Harry
Brett as he is recruited to spy on one of his old public school friends in
Madrid. It is part spy story and part love
story. The characters were well drawn, if a little stereotypical. I had no
idea of the lengths that Britain went to in keeping Spain from joining the war against
Britain. It’s left me wanting to read more about this
period in Spanish history.
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Glad you liked it! Not quite the same as the author's Shardlake series, but enjoyable. I, too, became intrigued with the Spanish Civil War after reading it as it's a part of European history that I know little about. Have you read Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls?"
ReplyDeleteYes many thanks for the recommendation, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I haven't read any of the Sharlake series, but understand they are very different given that they are set in the 16th century! I haven't read Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" so will put that on my reading list too.
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