Popular Spain Books
32+ [Hand Picked] Popular Books On Spain
Discover the list of some best books written on Spain by popular award winning authors. These book on topic Spain highly popular among the readers worldwide.
The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson
New from the award-winning author of Alif the Unseen and writer of the Ms. Marvel series, G. Willow Wilson Set in 1491 during the reign of the last sultanate in the Iberian peninsula, The Bird King is the story of Fatima, the only remaining Circassian concubine to the sultan, and her dearest friend Hassan, the palace mapmaker. Hassan has a secret--he can draw maps of places New from the award-winning author of Alif the Unseen and writer of the Ms. Marvel series, G. Willow Wilson Set in 1491 during the reign of the last sultanate in the Iberian peninsula, The Bird King is the story of Fatima, the only remaining Circassian concubine to the sultan, and her dearest friend Hassan, the palace mapmaker. Hassan has a secret--he can draw maps of places he's never seen and bend the shape of reality. When representatives of the newly formed Spanish monarchy arrive to negotiate the sultan's surrender, Fatima befriends one of the women, not realizing that she will see Hassan's gift as sorcery and a threat to Christian Spanish rule. With their freedoms at stake, what will Fatima risk to save Hassan and escape the palace walls? As Fatima and Hassan traverse Spain with the help of a clever jinn to find safety, The Bird King asks us to consider what love is and the price of freedom at a time when the West and the Muslim world were not yet separate.
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Far Side of the Sea by Kate Breslin
In spring 1918, Lieutenant Colin Mabry, a British soldier working with MI8 after suffering injuries on the front, receives a message by carrier pigeon. It is from Jewel Reyer, the woman he once loved and who saved his life--a woman he believed to be dead. Traveling to France to answer her urgent summons, he desperately hopes this mission will ease his guilt and restore the In spring 1918, Lieutenant Colin Mabry, a British soldier working with MI8 after suffering injuries on the front, receives a message by carrier pigeon. It is from Jewel Reyer, the woman he once loved and who saved his life--a woman he believed to be dead. Traveling to France to answer her urgent summons, he desperately hopes this mission will ease his guilt and restore the courage he lost on the battlefield. Colin is stunned, however, to discover the message came from Jewel's half sister, Johanna. Johanna, who works at a dovecote for French Army Intelligence, found Jewel's diary and believes her sister is alive in the custody of a German agent. With spies everywhere, Colin is skeptical of Johanna, but as they travel across France and Spain, a tentative trust begins to grow between them. When their pursuit leads them straight into the midst of a treacherous plot, danger and deception turn their search for answers into a battle for their lives
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Origin by Dan Brown
Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the ultramodern Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to attend a major announcementâthe unveiling of a discovery that âwill change the face of science forever.â The eveningâs host is Edmond Kirsch, a forty-year-old billionaire and futurist whose dazzling high-tech inventions and audacious predictions Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the ultramodern Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to attend a major announcementâthe unveiling of a discovery that âwill change the face of science forever.â The eveningâs host is Edmond Kirsch, a forty-year-old billionaire and futurist whose dazzling high-tech inventions and audacious predictions have made him a renowned global figure. Kirsch, who was one of Langdonâs first students at Harvard two decades earlier, is about to reveal an astonishing breakthrough . . . one that will answer two of the fundamental questions of human existence.As the event begins, Langdon and several hundred guests find themselves captivated by an utterly original presentation, which Langdon realizes will be far more controversial than he ever imagined. But the meticulously orchestrated evening suddenly erupts into chaos, and Kirschâs precious discovery teeters on the brink of being lost forever. Reeling and facing an imminent threat, Langdon is forced into a desperate bid to escape Bilbao. With him is Ambra Vidal, the elegant museum director who worked with Kirsch to stage the provocative event. Together they flee to Barcelona on a perilous quest to locate a cryptic password that will unlock Kirschâs secret.Navigating the dark corridors of hidden history and extreme religion, Langdon and Vidal must evade a tormented enemy whose all-knowing power seems to emanate from Spainâs Royal Palace itself... and who will stop at nothing to silence Edmond Kirsch. On a trail marked by modern art and enigmatic symbols, Langdon and Vidal uncover clues that ultimately bring them face-to-face with Kirschâs shocking discovery... and the breathtaking truth that has long eluded us.
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All This I Will Give to You by Dolores Redondo , Michael Meigs (Translator)
The award-winning, international bestselling page-burner about the secrets and lies of one man that lead another into a treacherous house of strangers⊠When novelist Manuel Ortigosa learns that his husband, Ălvaro, has been killed in a car crash, it comes as a devastating shock. It wonât be the last. Heâs now arrived in Galicia. Itâs where Ălvaro died. Itâs where the case h The award-winning, international bestselling page-burner about the secrets and lies of one man that lead another into a treacherous house of strangers⊠When novelist Manuel Ortigosa learns that his husband, Ălvaro, has been killed in a car crash, it comes as a devastating shock. It wonât be the last. Heâs now arrived in Galicia. Itâs where Ălvaro died. Itâs where the case has already been quickly closed as a tragic accident. Itâs also where Ălvaro hid his secrets. The man to whom Manuel was married for fifteen years was not the unassuming man he knew. Ălvaroâs trail leads Manuel deep into one of Spainâs most powerful and guarded families. Behind the walls of their forbidding estate, Manuel is nothing but an unwelcome and dangerous intruder. Then he finds two allies: a stubbornly suspicious police lieutenant and Ălvaroâs old friendâand private confessorâfrom seminary school. Together theyâre collecting the pieces of Ălvaroâs past, his double life, and his mysterious death. But in the shadows of nobility and privilege, Manuel is about to unravel a web of corruption and deception that could be as fatal a trap for him as it was for the man he loved.
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The Snow Gypsy by Lindsay Ashford
From the bestselling author of The Woman on the Orient Express comes a haunting novel of two womenâone determined to uncover the past and the other determined to escape it. At the close of World War II, London is in ruins and Rose Daniel isnât at peace. Eight years ago, her brother disappeared while fighting alongside Gypsy partisans in Spain. From his letters, Rose has jus From the bestselling author of The Woman on the Orient Express comes a haunting novel of two womenâone determined to uncover the past and the other determined to escape it. At the close of World War II, London is in ruins and Rose Daniel isnât at peace. Eight years ago, her brother disappeared while fighting alongside Gypsy partisans in Spain. From his letters, Rose has just two clues to his whereaboutsâhis descriptions of the spectacular south slopes of the Sierra Nevada and his love for a woman who was carrying his child. In Spain, it has been eight years since Lola Aragonâs family was massacred. Eight years since she rescued a newborn girl from the arms of her dying mother and ran for her life. She has always believed that nothing could make her returnâŠuntil a plea for help comes from a desperate stranger. Now, Rose, Lola, and the child set out on a journey from the wild marshes of the Camargue to the dazzling peaks of Spainâs ancient mountain communities. As they come face-to-face with warâs darkest truths, their lives will be changed forever by memories, secrets, and friendships.
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The Moon Sister by Lucinda Riley
From New York Times bestselling author Lucinda Riley, The Moon Sister transports you to the grandeur of the remote Scottish Highlands and the gypsy caves of Granada, just as Spain descends into civil war, interweaving the stories of two women searching for their destinies, at the risk of potentially losing their chance at love. Tiggy DâApliĂšse spends her days experiencing From New York Times bestselling author Lucinda Riley, The Moon Sister transports you to the grandeur of the remote Scottish Highlands and the gypsy caves of Granada, just as Spain descends into civil war, interweaving the stories of two women searching for their destinies, at the risk of potentially losing their chance at love. Tiggy DâApliĂšse spends her days experiencing the raw beauty of the Scottish Highlands doing a job she loves at a deer sanctuary. But when the sanctuary is forced to close, she is offered a job as a wildlife consultant on the vast and isolated estate of the elusive and troubled laird, Charlie Kinnaird. She has no idea that the move will not only irrevocably alter her future, but also bring her face-to-face with her past. At the estate, she meets Chilly, a gypsy who fled from Spain seventy years before. He tells her that not only does she possess a sixth sense passed down from her ancestors, but it was foretold long ago that he would be the one to send her back home⊠In 1912, in the poor gypsy community outside the city walls of Granada, LucĂa Amaya-Albaycin is born. Destined to be the greatest flamenco dancer of her generationâand named La Candela, due to the inner flame that burns through her when she dancesâ LucĂa is whisked away by her ambitious and talented guitarist father at the tender age of ten to dance in the flamenco bars of Barcelona. Her mother is devastated by the loss of her daughter and as civil war threatens in Spain, tragedy strikes the rest of her family. Now in Madrid, LucĂa and her troupe of dancers are forced to flee for their lives, their journey taking them far across the water to South America and eventually, to North America and New YorkâLucĂaâs long-held dream. But to pursue it, she must choose between her passion for her career and the man she adores. The Moon Sister follows these two women on their journey to discover their true futuresâbut at the risk of potentially losing the men they had hoped to build futures with.
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Two Steps Forward by Graeme Simsion , Anne Buist
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Rosie Project comes a story of taking chances and learning to love again as two people, one mourning her husband and the other recovering from divorce, cross paths on the centuries-old Camino pilgrimage from France to Spain. âThe Chemin will change you. It changes everyoneâŠâ The Chemin, also known as the Camino de Santiago, i From the New York Times bestselling author of The Rosie Project comes a story of taking chances and learning to love again as two people, one mourning her husband and the other recovering from divorce, cross paths on the centuries-old Camino pilgrimage from France to Spain. âThe Chemin will change you. It changes everyoneâŠâ The Chemin, also known as the Camino de Santiago, is a centuries-old pilgrim route that ends in Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain. Every year, thousands of walkersâsome devout, many notâfollow the route that wends through quaint small villages and along busy highways alike, a journey unlike any other. Zoe, an artist from California whoâs still reeling from her husbandâs sudden death, has impulsively decided to walk the Camino, hoping to find solace and direction. Martin, an engineer from England, is road-testing a cart of his own designâŠand recovering from a messy divorce. They begin in the same French town, each uncertain of what the future holds. Zoe has anticipated the physical difficulties of her trek, but she is less prepared for other challenges, as strangers and circumstances force her to confront not just recent loss, but long-held beliefs. For Martin, the pilgrimage is a test of his skills and endurance but also, as he and Zoe grow closer, of his willingness to trust othersâand himselfâagain. Smart and funny, insightful and romantic, Two Steps Forward reveals that the most important journeys we make arenât measured in miles, but in the strength, wisdom, and love found along the way. Fans of The Rosie Project will recognize Graeme Simsionâs uniquely quirky and charming writing style. Â
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The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson
New from the award-winning author of Alif the Unseen and writer of the Ms. Marvel series, G. Willow Wilson Set in 1491 during the reign of the last sultanate in the Iberian peninsula, The Bird King is the story of Fatima, the only remaining Circassian concubine to the sultan, and her dearest friend Hassan, the palace mapmaker. Hassan has a secret--he can draw maps of places New from the award-winning author of Alif the Unseen and writer of the Ms. Marvel series, G. Willow Wilson Set in 1491 during the reign of the last sultanate in the Iberian peninsula, The Bird King is the story of Fatima, the only remaining Circassian concubine to the sultan, and her dearest friend Hassan, the palace mapmaker. Hassan has a secret--he can draw maps of places he's never seen and bend the shape of reality. When representatives of the newly formed Spanish monarchy arrive to negotiate the sultan's surrender, Fatima befriends one of the women, not realizing that she will see Hassan's gift as sorcery and a threat to Christian Spanish rule. With their freedoms at stake, what will Fatima risk to save Hassan and escape the palace walls? As Fatima and Hassan traverse Spain with the help of a clever jinn to find safety, The Bird King asks us to consider what love is and the price of freedom at a time when the West and the Muslim world were not yet separate.
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The Vacationers by Emma Straub
For the Posts, a two-week trip to the Balearic island of Mallorca with their extended family and friends is a celebration: Franny and Jim are observing their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary, and their daughter, Sylvia, has graduated from high school. The sunlit island, its mountains and beaches, its tapas and tennis courts, also promise an escape from the tensions simmeri For the Posts, a two-week trip to the Balearic island of Mallorca with their extended family and friends is a celebration: Franny and Jim are observing their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary, and their daughter, Sylvia, has graduated from high school. The sunlit island, its mountains and beaches, its tapas and tennis courts, also promise an escape from the tensions simmering at home in Manhattan. But all does not go according to plan: over the course of the vacation, secrets come to light, old and new humiliations are experienced, childhood rivalries resurface, and ancient wounds are exacerbated.
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The Muse by Jessie Burton
A picture hides a thousand words . . . On a hot July day in 1967, Odelle Bastien climbs the stone steps of the Skelton gallery in London, knowing that her life is about to change forever. Having struggled to find her place in the city since she arrived from Trinidad five years ago, she has been offered a job as a typist under the tutelage of the glamorous and enigmatic Marj A picture hides a thousand words . . . On a hot July day in 1967, Odelle Bastien climbs the stone steps of the Skelton gallery in London, knowing that her life is about to change forever. Having struggled to find her place in the city since she arrived from Trinidad five years ago, she has been offered a job as a typist under the tutelage of the glamorous and enigmatic Marjorie Quick. But though Quick takes Odelle into her confidence, and unlocks a potential she didn't know she had, she remains a mystery - no more so than when a lost masterpiece with a secret history is delivered to the gallery. The truth about the painting lies in 1936 and a large house in rural Spain, where Olive Schloss, the daughter of a renowned art dealer, is harbouring ambitions of her own. Into this fragile paradise come artist and revolutionary Isaac Robles and his half-sister Teresa, who immediately insinuate themselves into the Schloss family, with explosive and devastating consequences . . .
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El laberinto de los espĂritus by Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłn
"El laberinto de los espĂritus", es el desenlace de la saga de "El cementerio de los libros olvidados" que se iniciĂł en 2001 con "La sombra del viento" y continuĂł en 2008 con "El juego del ĂĄngel" y en 2011 con "El prisionero del cielo". Elevadas por la crĂtica internacional a la categorĂa de clĂĄsico contemporĂĄneo, las novelas de "El cementerio de los libros olvidados" se ha "El laberinto de los espĂritus", es el desenlace de la saga de "El cementerio de los libros olvidados" que se iniciĂł en 2001 con "La sombra del viento" y continuĂł en 2008 con "El juego del ĂĄngel" y en 2011 con "El prisionero del cielo". Elevadas por la crĂtica internacional a la categorĂa de clĂĄsico contemporĂĄneo, las novelas de "El cementerio de los libros olvidados" se han convertido en uno de los universos literarios mĂĄs apasionantes del nuevo siglo, y Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłn en el escritor español mĂĄs leĂdo en todo el mundo despuĂ©s de Cervantes.
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Love and Ruin by Paula McLain
The bestselling author of The Paris Wife returns to the subject of Ernest Hemingway in a novel about his passionate, stormy marriage to Martha Gellhornâa fiercely independent, ambitious young woman who would become one of the greatest war correspondents of the twentieth century  In 1937, twenty-eight-year-old Martha travels alone to Madrid to report on the atrocities of t The bestselling author of The Paris Wife returns to the subject of Ernest Hemingway in a novel about his passionate, stormy marriage to Martha Gellhornâa fiercely independent, ambitious young woman who would become one of the greatest war correspondents of the twentieth century  In 1937, twenty-eight-year-old Martha travels alone to Madrid to report on the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War and becomes drawn to the stories of ordinary people caught in devastating conflict. She also finds herself unexpectedlyâand uncontrollablyâfalling in love with Hemingway, a man already on his way to becoming a legend. In the shadow of the impending Second World War, and set against the tumultuous backdrops of Madrid, Finland, China, Key West, and especially Cuba, where Martha and Ernest make their home, their relationship and professional careers ignite. But when Ernest publishes the biggest literary success of his career, For Whom the Bell Tolls, they are no longer equals, and Martha must make a choice: surrender to the confining demands of being a famous man's wife or risk losing Ernest by forging a path as her own woman and writer. It is a dilemma that will force her to break his heart, and her own.
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The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami
In 1527, the conquistador PĂĄnfilo de NarvĂĄez sailed from the port of SanlĂșcar de Barrameda with a crew of six hundred men and nearly a hundred horses. His goal was to claim what is now the Gulf Coast of the United States for the Spanish crown and, in the process, become as wealthy and famous as HernĂĄn CortĂ©s. But from the moment the NarvĂĄez expedition landed in Florida, it In 1527, the conquistador PĂĄnfilo de NarvĂĄez sailed from the port of SanlĂșcar de Barrameda with a crew of six hundred men and nearly a hundred horses. His goal was to claim what is now the Gulf Coast of the United States for the Spanish crown and, in the process, become as wealthy and famous as HernĂĄn CortĂ©s. But from the moment the NarvĂĄez expedition landed in Florida, it faced perilânavigational errors, disease, starvation, as well as resistance from indigenous tribes. Within a year there were only four survivors: the expeditionâs treasurer, Ălvar NĂșñez Cabeza de Vaca; a Spanish nobleman named Alonso del Castillo Maldonado; a young explorer named AndrĂ©s Dorantes de Carranza; and Dorantesâs Moroccan slave, Mustafa al-Zamori, whom the three Spaniards called Estebanico. These four survivors would go on to make a journey across America that would transform them from proud conquistadores to humble servants, from fearful outcasts to faith healers.
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A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear
Maisie Dobbs returns in a powerful story of political intrigue and personal tragedy: a brutal murder in the British garrison town of Gilbraltar leads the investigator into a web of lies, deceit and danger Spring 1937. In the four years since she left England, Maisie Dobbs has experienced love, contentment, stabilityâand the deepest tragedy a woman can endure. Now, all she w Maisie Dobbs returns in a powerful story of political intrigue and personal tragedy: a brutal murder in the British garrison town of Gilbraltar leads the investigator into a web of lies, deceit and danger Spring 1937. In the four years since she left England, Maisie Dobbs has experienced love, contentment, stabilityâand the deepest tragedy a woman can endure. Now, all she wants is the peace she believes she might find by returning to India. But her sojourn in the hills of Darjeeling is cut short when her stepmother summons her home to England; her aging father Frankie Dobbs is not getting any younger. But on a ship bound for England, Maisie realizes she isnât ready to return. Against the wishes of the captain who warns her, âYou will be alone in a most dangerous place,â she disembarks in Gibraltar. Though she is on her own, Maisie is far from alone: the British garrison town is teeming with refugees fleeing a brutal civil war across the border in Spain. Yet the danger is very real. Days after Maisieâs arrival, a photographer and member of Gibraltarâs Sephardic Jewish community, Sebastian Babayoff, is murdered, and Maisie becomes entangled in the case, drawing the attention of the British Secret Service. Under the suspicious eye of a British agent, Maisie is pulled deeper into political intrigue on âthe Rockââarguably Britainâs most important strategic territoryâand renews an uneasy acquaintance in the process. At a crossroads between her past and her future, Maisie must choose a direction, knowing that England is, for her, an equally dangerous place, but in quite a different way.
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En attendant Bojangles by Olivier Bourdeaut
Sous le regard Ă©merveillĂ© de leur fils, ils dansent sur «Mr. Bojangles» de Nina Simone. Leur amour est magique, vertigineux, une fĂȘte perpĂ©tuelle. Chez eux, il nây a de place que pour le plaisir, la fantaisie et les amis. Celle qui donne le ton, qui mĂšne le bal, câest la mĂšre, feu follet imprĂ©visible et extravagant. Câest elle qui a adoptĂ© le quatriĂšme membre de la famille, Sous le regard Ă©merveillĂ© de leur fils, ils dansent sur «Mr. Bojangles» de Nina Simone. Leur amour est magique, vertigineux, une fĂȘte perpĂ©tuelle. Chez eux, il nây a de place que pour le plaisir, la fantaisie et les amis. Celle qui donne le ton, qui mĂšne le bal, câest la mĂšre, feu follet imprĂ©visible et extravagant. Câest elle qui a adoptĂ© le quatriĂšme membre de la famille, Mademoiselle SuperfĂ©tatoire, un grand oiseau exotique qui dĂ©ambule dans lâappartement. Câest elle qui nâa de cesse de les entraĂźner dans un tourbillon de poĂ©sie et de chimĂšres. Un jour, pourtant, elle va trop loin. Et pĂšre et fils feront tout pour Ă©viter lâinĂ©luctable, pour que la fĂȘte continue, coĂ»te que coĂ»te. Lâamour fou nâa jamais si bien portĂ© son nom.
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Patria by Fernando Aramburu
El dĂa en que ETA anuncia el abandono de las armas, Bittori se dirige al cementerio para contarle a la tumba de su marido el Txato, asesinado por los terroristas, que ha decidido volver a la casa donde vivieron. ÂżPodrĂĄ convivir con quienes la acosaron antes y despuĂ©s del atentado que trastocĂł su vida y la de su familia? ÂżPodrĂĄ saber quiĂ©n fue el encapuchado que un dĂa lluv El dĂa en que ETA anuncia el abandono de las armas, Bittori se dirige al cementerio para contarle a la tumba de su marido el Txato, asesinado por los terroristas, que ha decidido volver a la casa donde vivieron. ÂżPodrĂĄ convivir con quienes la acosaron antes y despuĂ©s del atentado que trastocĂł su vida y la de su familia? ÂżPodrĂĄ saber quiĂ©n fue el encapuchado que un dĂa lluvioso matĂł a su marido, cuando volvĂa de su empresa de transportes? Por mĂĄs que llegue a escondidas, la presencia de Bittori alterarĂĄ la falsa tranquilidad del pueblo, sobre todo de su vecina Miren, amiga Ăntima en otro tiempo, y madre de Joxe Mari, un terrorista encarcelado y sospechoso de los peores temores de Bittori. ÂżQuĂ© pasĂł entre esas dos mujeres? ÂżQuĂ© ha envenenado la vida de sus hijos y sus maridos tan unidos en el pasado? Con sus desgarros disimulados y sus convicciones inquebrantables, con sus heridas y sus valentĂas, la historia incandescente de sus vidas antes y despuĂ©s del crĂĄter que fue la muerte del Txato, nos habla de la imposibilidad de olvidar y de la necesidad de perdĂłn en una comunidad rota por el fanatismo polĂtico.
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The Girl from Krakow by Alex Rosenberg
Itâs 1935. Rita Feuerstahl comes to the university in Krakow intent on enjoying her freedom. But life has other things in storeâmarriage, a love affair, a child, all in the shadows of the oncoming war. When the war arrives, Rita is armed with a secret so enormous that it could cost the Allies everything, even as it gives her the will to live. She must find a way both to ke Itâs 1935. Rita Feuerstahl comes to the university in Krakow intent on enjoying her freedom. But life has other things in storeâmarriage, a love affair, a child, all in the shadows of the oncoming war. When the war arrives, Rita is armed with a secret so enormous that it could cost the Allies everything, even as it gives her the will to live. She must find a way both to keep her secret and to survive amid the chaos of Europe at war. Living by her wits among the Germans as their conquests turn to defeat, she seeks a way to prevent the inevitable doom of Nazism from making her one of its last victims. Can her passion and resolve outlast the most powerful evil that Europe has ever seen?In an epic saga that spans from Paris in the â30s and Spainâs Civil War to Moscow, Warsaw, and the heart of Nazi Germany, The Girl from Krakow follows one womanâs battle for survival as entire nations are torn apart, never to be the same.
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The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłn , Lucia Graves (Translator)
The international literary sensation, about a boy's quest through the secrets and shadows of postwar Barcelona for a mysterious author whose book has proved as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget. Barcelona, 1945 - just after the war, a great world city lies in shadow, nursing its wounds, and a boy named Daniel awakes on his eleventh birthday to find that he can The international literary sensation, about a boy's quest through the secrets and shadows of postwar Barcelona for a mysterious author whose book has proved as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget. Barcelona, 1945 - just after the war, a great world city lies in shadow, nursing its wounds, and a boy named Daniel awakes on his eleventh birthday to find that he can no longer remember his motherâs face. To console his only child, Danielâs widowed father, an antiquarian book dealer, initiates him into the secret of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a library tended by Barcelonaâs guild of rare-book dealers as a repository for books forgotten by the world, waiting for someone who will care about them again. Danielâs father coaxes him to choose a volume from the spiraling labyrinth of shelves, one that, it is said, will have a special meaning for him. And Daniel so loves the novel he selects, The Shadow of the Wind by one Julian Carax, that he sets out to find the rest of Caraxâs work. To his shock, he discovers that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book this author has written. In fact, he may have the last one in existence. Before Daniel knows it his seemingly innocent quest has opened a door into one of Barcelonaâs darkest secrets, an epic story of murder, magic, madness and doomed love. And before long he realizes that if he doesnât find out the truth about Julian Carax, he and those closest to him will suffer horribly. As with all astounding novels, The Shadow of the Wind sends the mind groping for comparisonsâThe Crimson Petal and the White? The novels of Arturo PĂ©rez-Reverte? Of Victor Hugo? Love in the Time of Cholera?âbut in the end, as with all astounding novels, no comparison can suffice. As one leading Spanish reviewer wrote, "The originality of Ruiz ZafĂłnâs voice is bombproof and displays a diabolical talent. The Shadow of the Wind announces a phenomenon in Spanish literature." An uncannily absorbing historical mystery, a heart-piercing romance, and a moving homage to the mystical power of books, The Shadow of the Wind is a triumph of the storytellerâs art. (less)
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Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra , Roberto GonzĂĄlez EchevarrĂa (Introduction) , John Rutherford (Translator, Introduction) , Ernani SsĂł (translator)
Don Quixote has become so entranced by reading chivalric romances, that he determines to become a knight-errant himself. In the company of his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, his exploits blossom in all sorts of wonderful ways. While Quixote's fancy often leads him astray â he tilts at windmills, imagining them to be giants â Sancho acquires cunning and a certain sagacity. Don Quixote has become so entranced by reading chivalric romances, that he determines to become a knight-errant himself. In the company of his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, his exploits blossom in all sorts of wonderful ways. While Quixote's fancy often leads him astray â he tilts at windmills, imagining them to be giants â Sancho acquires cunning and a certain sagacity. Sane madman and wise fool, they roam the world together, and together they have haunted readers' imaginations for nearly four hundred years. With its experimental form and literary playfulness, Don Quixote generally has been recognized as the first modern novel. The book has had enormous influence on a host of writers, from Fielding and Sterne to Flaubert, Dickens, Melville, and Faulkner, who reread it once a year, "just as some people read the Bible."
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The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłn , Lucia Graves (Translator)
From master storyteller Carlos Ruiz Zafon, author of the international phenomenon The Shadow of the Wind, comes The Angelâs Game â a dazzling new page-turner about the perilous nature of obsession, in literature and in love. The whole of Barcelona stretched out at my feet and I wanted to believe that when I opened those windows â my new windows â each evening its streets wo From master storyteller Carlos Ruiz Zafon, author of the international phenomenon The Shadow of the Wind, comes The Angelâs Game â a dazzling new page-turner about the perilous nature of obsession, in literature and in love. The whole of Barcelona stretched out at my feet and I wanted to believe that when I opened those windows â my new windows â each evening its streets would whisper stories to me, secrets in my ear, that I could catch on paper and narrate to whomever cared to listen⊠In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man, David Martin, makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the cityâs underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house lie photographs and letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner. Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love. Close to despair, David receives a letter from a reclusive French editor, Andreas Corelli, who makes him the offer of a lifetime. He is to write a book unlike anything that has ever existed â a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, and perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realizes that there is a connection between his haunting book and the shadows that surround his home. Once again, Zafon takes us into a dark, gothic universe first seen in The Shadow of the Wind and creates a breathtaking adventure of intrigue, romance, and tragedy. Through a dizzyingly constructed labyrinth of secrets, the magic of books, passion, and friendship blend into a masterful story. (jacket)
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The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
The quintessential novel of the Lost Generation, The Sun Also Rises is one of Ernest Hemingway's masterpieces, and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style. A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story The quintessential novel of the Lost Generation, The Sun Also Rises is one of Ernest Hemingway's masterpieces, and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style. A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. It is an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions. First published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises helped to establish Hemingway as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.
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Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell , Lionel Trilling (Introduction)
In 1936 Orwell travelled to Spain to report on the Civil War and instead joined the fight against the Fascists. This famous account describes the war and Orwellâs own experiences. Introduction by Lionel Trilling.
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For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here In 1937 Ernest Hemingway traveled to Spain to cover the civil war there for the North American Newspaper Alliance. Three years later he completed the greatest novel to emerge from "the good fight", For Whom the Bell Tolls. The story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to an Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here In 1937 Ernest Hemingway traveled to Spain to cover the civil war there for the North American Newspaper Alliance. Three years later he completed the greatest novel to emerge from "the good fight", For Whom the Bell Tolls. The story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to an antifascist guerilla unit in the mountains of Spain, it tells of loyalty and courage, love and defeat, and the tragic death of an ideal. In his portrayal of Jordan's love for the beautiful Maria and his superb account of El Sordo's last stand, in his brilliant travesty of La Pasionaria and his unwillingness to believe in blind faith, Hemingway surpasses his achievement in The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms to create a work at once rare and beautiful, strong and brutal, compassionate, moving and wise. "If the function of a writer is to reveal reality," Maxwell Perkins wrote to Hemingway after reading the manuscript, "no one ever so completely performed it." Greater in power, broader in scope, and more intensely emotional than any of the author's previous works, it stands as one of the best war novels of all time.
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The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłn , Lucia Graves (Translator)
Barcelona, 1957. It is Christmas, and Daniel Sempere and his wife Bea have much to celebrate. They have a beautiful new baby son named Julian, and their close friend FermĂn Romero de Torres is about to be wed. But their joy is eclipsed when a mysterious stranger visits the Sempere bookshop and threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in t Barcelona, 1957. It is Christmas, and Daniel Sempere and his wife Bea have much to celebrate. They have a beautiful new baby son named Julian, and their close friend FermĂn Romero de Torres is about to be wed. But their joy is eclipsed when a mysterious stranger visits the Sempere bookshop and threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in the city's dark past. His appearance plunges FermĂn and Daniel into a dangerous adventure that will take them back to the 1940's and the dark early days of Franco's dictatorship. The terrifying events of that time launch them on a journey fraught with jealousy, suspicion, vengeance, and lies, a search for the truth that will put into peril everything they love and ultimately transform their lives. Full of intrigue and emotion, The Prisoner of Heaven is a majestic novel in which the threads of The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game converge under the spell of literature and bring us toward the enigma of the mystery hidden at the heart of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a collection of lost treasures known only to its few initiates and the very core of Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłn's enchanting fictional world. (front flap)
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Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past by Giles Tremlett
The appearance, more than sixty years after the Spanish Civil War ended, of mass graves containing victims of Francisco Francoâs death squads finally broke what Spaniards call âthe pact of forgettingââthe unwritten understanding that their recent, painful past was best left unexplored. At this charged moment, Giles Tremlett embarked on a journey around the country and thro The appearance, more than sixty years after the Spanish Civil War ended, of mass graves containing victims of Francisco Francoâs death squads finally broke what Spaniards call âthe pact of forgettingââthe unwritten understanding that their recent, painful past was best left unexplored. At this charged moment, Giles Tremlett embarked on a journey around the country and through its history to discover why some of Europeâs most voluble people have kept silent so long.  Ghosts of Spain is the fascinating result of that journey. In elegant and passionate prose, Tremlett unveils the tinderbox of disagreements that mark the country today. Delving into such emotional questions as who caused the Civil War, why Basque terrorists kill, why Catalans hate Madrid, and whether the Islamist bombers who killed 190 people in 2004 dreamed of a return to Spainâs Moorish past, Tremlett finds the ghosts of the past everywhere. At the same time, he offers trenchant observations on more quotidian aspects of Spanish life today: the reasons, for example, Spaniards dislike authority figures, but are cowed by a doctorâs white coat, and how women have embraced feminism without men noticing.  Drawing on the authorâs twenty years of experience living in Spain, Ghosts of Spain is a revelatory book about one of Europeâs most exciting countries.
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Winter in Madrid by C.J. Sansom
Fans of Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłnâs The Shadow of the Wind and Sebastian Faulksâs Birdsong will fall in love with Winter in Madrid, the arresting new novel from C.J. Sansom. In September 1940, the Spanish Civil War is over and Madrid lies in ruins while the Germans continue their march through Europe. Britain stands alone as General Franco considers whether to abandon neutrality a Fans of Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłnâs The Shadow of the Wind and Sebastian Faulksâs Birdsong will fall in love with Winter in Madrid, the arresting new novel from C.J. Sansom. In September 1940, the Spanish Civil War is over and Madrid lies in ruins while the Germans continue their march through Europe. Britain stands alone as General Franco considers whether to abandon neutrality and enter the war. Into this uncertain world comes Harry Brett, a privileged young man who was recently traumatized by his experience in Dunkirk and is now a reluctant spy for the British Secret Service. Sent to gain the confidence of Sandy Forsyth, an old school friend turned shadowy Madrid businessman, Brett finds himself involved in a dangerous game and surrounded by memories. Meanwhile, Sandyâs girlfriend, ex-Red Cross nurse Barbara Clare, is engaged in a secret mission of her ownâto find her former lover Bernie Piper, whose passion for the Communist cause led him into the International Brigades and who vanished on the bloody battlefields of the Jarama. In a vivid and haunting depiction of wartime Spain, Winter in Madrid is an intimate and riveting tale that offers a remarkable sense of history unfolding and the profound impact of impossible choices.
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The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho , Alan R. Clarke (Translator) , Ăzdemir Ä°nce (Translator)
Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far differentâand far more satisfyingâthan he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read t Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far differentâand far more satisfyingâthan he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.
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La catedral del mar by Ildefonso Falcones
Siglo XIV. La ciudad de Barcelona se encuentra en su momento de mayor prosperidad; ha crecido hacia la Ribera, el humilde barrio de los pescadores, cuyos habitantes deciden construir, con el dinero de unos y el esfuerzo de otros, el mayor templo mariano jamĂĄs conocido: Santa MarĂa de la Mar. Una construcciĂłn que es paralela a la azarosa historia de Arnau, un siervo de la ti Siglo XIV. La ciudad de Barcelona se encuentra en su momento de mayor prosperidad; ha crecido hacia la Ribera, el humilde barrio de los pescadores, cuyos habitantes deciden construir, con el dinero de unos y el esfuerzo de otros, el mayor templo mariano jamĂĄs conocido: Santa MarĂa de la Mar. Una construcciĂłn que es paralela a la azarosa historia de Arnau, un siervo de la tierra que huye de los abusos de su señor feudal y se refugia en Barcelona, donde se convierte en ciudadano y, con ello, en hombre libre. El joven Arnau trabaja como palafrenero, estibador, soldado y cambista. Una vida extenuante, siempre al amparo de la catedral de la mar, que le iba a llevar de la miseria del fugitivo a la nobleza y la riqueza. Pero con esta posiciĂłn privilegiada tambiĂ©n le llega la envidia de sus pares, que urden una sĂłrdida conjura que pone su vida en manos de la InquisiciĂłn... "La catedral del mar" es una trama en la que se entrecruzan lealtad y venganza, traiciĂłn y amor, guerra y peste, en un mundo marcado por la intolerancia religiosa, la ambiciĂłn material y la segregaciĂłn social. Todo ello convierte esta obra no sĂłlo en una novela absorbente, sino tambiĂ©n en la mĂĄs fascinante y ambiciosa recreaciĂłn de las luces y sombras de la Ă©poca feudal.
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The Time in Between by MarĂa Dueñas , Daniel Hahn (Translator)
The Time In Between is a word-of-mouth phenomenon that catapulted MarĂa Dueñas, a debut author, to the top of Spain's bestseller lists. This sweeping novel, which combines the storytelling power of The Shadow of the Wind with the irresistible romance of Casablanca, moves at an unstoppable pace. Suddenly left abandoned and penniless in Morocco by her lover, Sira Quiroga forg The Time In Between is a word-of-mouth phenomenon that catapulted MarĂa Dueñas, a debut author, to the top of Spain's bestseller lists. This sweeping novel, which combines the storytelling power of The Shadow of the Wind with the irresistible romance of Casablanca, moves at an unstoppable pace. Suddenly left abandoned and penniless in Morocco by her lover, Sira Quiroga forges a new identity. Against all odds she becomes the most sought-after couture designer for the socialite wives of German Nazi officers. But she is soon embroiled in a dangerous political conspiracy as she passes information to the British Secret Service through a code stitched into the hems of her dresses.
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The Club Dumas by Arturo PĂ©rez-Reverte , Sonia Soto (Translation)
Lucas Corso is a book detective, a middle-aged mercenary hired to hunt down rare editions for wealthy and unscrupulous clients. When a well-known bibliophile is found dead, leaving behind part of the original manuscript of Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers, Corso is brought in to authenticate the fragment. He is soon drawn into a swirling plot involving devil worship, Lucas Corso is a book detective, a middle-aged mercenary hired to hunt down rare editions for wealthy and unscrupulous clients. When a well-known bibliophile is found dead, leaving behind part of the original manuscript of Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers, Corso is brought in to authenticate the fragment. He is soon drawn into a swirling plot involving devil worship, occult practices, and swashbuckling derring-do among a cast of characters bearing a suspicious resemblance to those of Dumas's masterpiece. Aided by a mysterious beauty named for a Conan Doyle heroine, Corso travels from Madrid to Toledo to Paris on the killer's trail in this twisty intellectual romp through the book world
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Marina by Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłn
Quince años mas tarde, la memoria de aquel dia ha vuelto a mi. He visto a aquel muchacho vagando entre las brumas de la estacion de Francia y el nombre de Marina se ha encendido de nuevo como una herida fresca. Todos tenemos un secreto encerrado bajo llave en el atico del alma. este es el mio. En la Barcelona de 1980 Oscar Drai suena despierto, deslumbrado por los placeres Quince años mas tarde, la memoria de aquel dia ha vuelto a mi. He visto a aquel muchacho vagando entre las brumas de la estacion de Francia y el nombre de Marina se ha encendido de nuevo como una herida fresca. Todos tenemos un secreto encerrado bajo llave en el atico del alma. este es el mio. En la Barcelona de 1980 Oscar Drai suena despierto, deslumbrado por los placeres mocernistas cercanos al internado en el que estudia. En una de sus escapadas conoce a Marina, una chica audaz que comparte con oscar la aventura de adentrarse en un enigma doloroso del pasado de la ciudad. Un misterioso personaje de la posguerra se propuso el mayor desafio imaginable, pero su ambicion lo arrastro por sendas siniestras cucyas consecuencias debe pagar alguien todavia hoy.
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A Heart So White by Javier MarĂas , Margaret Jull Costa (Translator)
Javier MarĂas's A Heart So White chronicles with unnerving insistence the relentless power of the past. Juan knows little of the interior life of his father Ranz; but when Juan marries, he begins to consider the past anew, and begins to ponder what he doesn't really want to know. Secrecyâits possible convenience, its price, and even its civilityâhovers throughout the novel Javier MarĂas's A Heart So White chronicles with unnerving insistence the relentless power of the past. Juan knows little of the interior life of his father Ranz; but when Juan marries, he begins to consider the past anew, and begins to ponder what he doesn't really want to know. Secrecyâits possible convenience, its price, and even its civilityâhovers throughout the novel. A Heart So White becomes a sort of anti-detective story of human nature. Intrigue; the sins of the father; the fraudulent and the genuine; marriage and strange repetitions of violence: MarĂas elegantly sends shafts of inquisitory light into the shadows and on to the costs of ambivalence. ("My hands are of your colour; but I shame/To wear a heart so white"âShakespeare's Macbeth.)
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