The Soldiers of Salamis by Javier Cercas
In the final moments of the Spanish Civil War, as the remnants of the Republican army retreat north to exile, fifty prominent Nationalist prisoners are taken out to be shot. Among them is Rafael Sanchez Mazas - writer, fascist and founder of the Spanish Falange. As the machine-guns begin to fire, Sanchez Mazas, seizes his chance 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. Sanchez Mazas becomes a national hero and ultimately a minster in Franco's first government. The soldier disappears into history. As Cercas sifts the evidence to establish what really happened, he realises that the true hero of his story may not be Sanchez 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?
Javier Cercas was born in 1962. He is a novelist, short story writer and essayist, whose books include El Vientrede la ballena (The Belly of the Whale, 1997) and Relatos Reales (True Tales, 2000). He has taught at the University of Illinois and since 1989 has been a lecturer in Spanish literature at the University of Gerona. Anne McLean has translated Latin American and Spanish novels, short stories, memoirs and other writings by writers including Carmen Martin Gaite, Orlando Gonzalez, Julio Cortazar and Ignacio Padilla.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780747563150 |
| ISBN 10 | 0747563152 |
| Title | The Soldiers of Salamis |
| Author | Javier Cercas |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Year published | 2003-05-05 |
| Number of pages | 224 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |