The Spanish Bow

by Andromeda Romano-Lax

In a dusty, turn-of-the-century Catalan village, the bequest of a cello bow sets young Feliu Delargo on an unlikely path. When a local landowner's wrath threatens his family, the Spanish bow leads Feliu to anarchist Barcelona, then on to the court in Madrid, where a music master's daughter gives him his first lessons in the art of love. There he meets up with the charming and eccentric piano prodigy Justo Al-Cerraz and begins the lifelong friendship and rivalry that will orchestrate a tumultuous course for them both. As a war-torn world careens toward catastrophe, they make splendid music together and clash over women, politics, and almost everything else. Then Aviva, an Italian violinist with a haunted past, enters their lives, and Feliu and Justo embark upon their final and most dangerous collaboration.

Inspired by the life of Pablo Casals and with appearances by Pablo Picasso, Bertolt Brecht, and others who wrestled with the competing demands of art and conscience during the Spanish Civil War and World War II, The Spanish Bow is a deeply imagined tale of the passions that accident bestows—and the sacrifices history enacts.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Spain, Music, War, Historical, Novels

560 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Andromeda Romano-Lax worked as a freelance journalist and travel writer before turning to fiction. Her first novel, The Spanish Bow, was translated into eleven languages and was chosen as a New York Times Editors’ Choice. Her suspense novel, The Deepest Lake, was a Barnes & Noble Monthly Pick. Among her nonfiction works are a dozen travel and natural history guidebooks to the public lands of Alaska, as well as a travel narrative, Searching for Steinbeck’s Sea of Cortez. She currently lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.

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Reviews

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty)]

I made it nearly halfway through this book before deciding not to continue. It's a well-written, carefully told story. Perhaps a little too carefully told as regards the endless details of Feliu's life. I felt like the author assumed too much knowledge on the part of the reader about the events surrounding Feliu's experiences. I had hoped to learn something about Spanish history, but the author makes a lot of veiled references to events and intrigues with which we're already supposed to be familiar. Perhaps she wrote it for citizens of Spain, who would recognize the references. I was lost, and grew increasingly frustrated at my own ignorance and the author's unwillingness to enlighten me.

[Margo Brooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel wasn't my cup of tea, but I think that others may really love it. It is the story of the life of a cellist, with all interesting and boring bits of the tour circuit provided in great detail. For me, there were too many boring bits. And, because the story is told from the cellist's perspective looking back at his long life, the narrative was dull in places. Felix seemed so stuck in the mud, that it was hard to understand how he became a political activist. Set in the time of two World Wars and the Spanish Civil War, I expected more. And since the story is based on the life of Pablo Casals, I also expected that it would be more condensed. However, if you love music and want to read a sprawling biographical novel, you will likely really enjoy it.

[Heloise Jacobs · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm in two minds about this book. Like many other reviewers here I also wantte to stop half way through but it was a rainy day and I was on holiday so I finished it. I'm glad I did. I like the author's writing style. I loved the music information but I think this is more a history book about Spain, and it bored me.
Overall, not a bad read but it dragged on a bit too long.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feliu Delargo was almost born happy, almost born with the name Felix as his mother had wanted. But instead he was a breach birth, born butt first into a house of chaos that mistakenly thought he was born dead. His name is misspelled on his birth certificate but does this mistake rob him of happiness in later life? He grew up in a small Spanish town in the late 19th century, where as a young boy he is taken to the train station by his mother. He thinks he is there to pick up his father. He is there to pick up a package of items left by his father, killed in Cuba. He is told to choose an item belonging to his father. He chooses from the box of items a cello bow which fascinates him. Feliu longs to learn to play the cello but must be content with the violin and later the piano. It is years later through great sacrifices of his mother, before he is able to pair the bow with a cello and learn to play the instrument. Through the years of turmoil in Spain, of civil wars and World Wars, he masters the cello and travels and plays at first for the royal family of Spain and later all over Europe, traveling with two other players, Justo Al-Cerraz a loud brash pianist and Aviva, a haunted Italian violinist. The trio go from success to poverty to bickering and splitting up and going separate ways and later meeting again to try to escape war and tragedy.

A grim yet engaging epic filled with fiery politics which the central character Feliu does his best to ignore until it touches him personally. The book is filled with the names and compositions of great composers of the time and the history that influences their music. (It makes me sad that I live in a time of Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber.) Feliu shows restraint all his life. He shows restraint with his love for Aviva who he worries about. Aviva is haunted by her past and has self destructive behavior that Feliu and Justo can not comprehend.The reader has a view of Feliu's entire life and it is when Feliu is well into middle age that he reflect and realizes that he has become all that he will be, no greater and no way to change mistakes of the past. Perhaps the restraint is not so much a virtue after all as he does miss out on a lot of opportunities in his life. An excellent read that does not disappoint but takes some patience. The characters while never dull, don't always make you want to jump up and down. The tension at the end of the book made me want to pull my hair out. You know there is something bad coming but you just do not know what it is. Ay, caramba!

[Shana · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you’ve read this then you know why this is so sad. It’s not entirely bad, it’s just that it drags on and on far past the point where you’re interested in the main character. I like how the author incorporates known artistic and political figures of the time period in, but that still doesn’t make up for the fact that it just drags. Not the best novel I’ve ever read but out of the bunch I brought home with me, I guess this was the best. *sigh*

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feliu Delargo suffers two accidents at his birth in a Catalan village in 1892. A traumatic birth burdens him with a hip injury and the notary mistakes his mother’s intention to name him Feliz, or Happy. When he is six years old, his father, soon to die in Cuba, sends a box of gifts to be distributed among his children. Feliu is drawn to a wooden stick that sets him on his life’s course as he learns first to play the violin and then the cello.

Over the course of the 20th century, as Feliu becomes a world-renowned cellist, playing for kings and despots, he develops complex relationships with a volatile Spanish pianist/composer and an Italian Jewish violinist haunted by her past. As history unfolds, Feliu’s story traces his struggle to isolate his art from the great political and moral issues of his time, providing unmistakable parallels to the life of the great Spanish cellist Pablo Casals. Historical figures from the Spanish monarchy to Picasso and Hitler play cameo roles and Andromeda Romano-Lax’s prodigious research is used effectively. But it is the central characters and their moral choices that drive this impressive debut novel.

This book has epic sweep, complex characters and enough plot twists to satisfy readers of popular historical fiction. But it is a much more thoughtful, lyrical book than is typical of that genre, one that explores the role of art in political life and the human spirit.

[C.W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can art save us from ourselves? In her elegant debut, THE SPANISH BOW, Ms Romano-Lax ponders this timeless question through the ambitious tale of Feliu Delargo, a gifted cellist born in turn-of-the-century Spain who receives the unexpected gift of a bow from his dead father and sets himself on a resolute path to mastering his craft. His journey takes him from performing in the defiant streets of Barcelona to the confidences of the queen of Spain and a tumultuous partnership with flamboyant pianist Justo Al-Cerraz, who introduces Feliu to the rigors and joys of life as an itinerant musician as well as the eventual deception of fame. As civil war decimates his homeland and fascism spreads across Europe, Feliu finds himself increasingly conflicted over the relevance of music in a crumbling world--until he meets Aviva, an Italian violinist whose inexorable quest to redeem her past plunges Feliu into destructive rivalry and ultimate sacrifice. From the hypocrisies of the courts of Madrid to the terror of Nazi-occupied Paris, Romano-Lax weaves the upheavals of the first half of the twentieth century into an elegy to the simultaneous power and impotency of art, and the contradictions of the human spirit. (This review was first published by The Historical Novels Review)

[Natasa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author does an amazing job of weaving in music, politics, history, and relationships throughout the book. It is beautifully written however it seemed to drag. 

[Book Concierge · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel follows the fictitious cellist Feliu Delargo from his birth in a Catalan village in 1892 to the concert halls of Spain, France and Germany in the early 20th century and finally to the train depot in a small French port city in October 1940.

Romano-Lax has included a number of historical figures from the worlds of art, culture and politics – Kurt Weill, Pablo Picasso, and Adolf Hitler to name just three. The author was inspired by the life of Pablo Casals, but the book is NOT a fictionalized biography of Casals. The novel explores issues of personal responsibility and what history demands of the individual, in particular those individuals in the public eye; should they use their art and celebrity to advance a particular cause, to warn the populace, or to numb the masses. This is a large topic to tackle and the book covers a significant time frame where wars, disease and economic depressions taxed even the strongest and wealthiest. Romano-Lax manages this very well.

If I have any complaint it is that Feliu seemed too distant from what was going on around him. He was a leaf blown on the winds of change for most of the book. Even when he took a stand in one area of his life, he still drifted along in other areas. In contrast, pianist Justo Al-Cerraz (and Delargo’s friend) is portrayed as a larger-than-life, charming and eccentric bon vivant. Justo tries to get Feliu to wake up to life and participate, but it is an uphill battle.

All told, the story pulled me in and kept me turning pages. The author includes just enough humorous scenes to relieve the tension and avoid sounding “preachy.” When I got to the end, I found myself wishing the book were longer.

[Antonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Spanish Bow is a gripping historical novel describing the memories of a fictional Spanish cellist, Feliu Delargo, throughout a period spanning the fall of Spanish monarchy, the Spanish war in Morocco, the Spanish civil war, the emergence of Nazism in Germany, and the German occupation of France. The action is woven with ingenuity to make Feliu meet personalities as distinct as Queen Ena of Spain (with whom he develops an intimate but respectful relationship), King Alfonso XIII of Spain, Francisco Franco, Manuel de Falla, Edward Elgar, Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, Pablo Picasso and Adolf Hitler. The story develops around a triangle of friendship between Feliu, the fictional pianist Justo Al-Cerraz, and the fictional violinist Aviva Henze-Pergolesi, a woman for whom the two men develop an ambiguous love relationship. The novel has been very thoroughly researched and captures genuinely the flavour of the Spanish culture. It also shows an outstanding ability of the author to express the emotions of music lovers and the complex feelings of vulnerability and inhibition that can develop when a woman and a man link emotionally quite strongly but fail to communicate.

[Marvin Vingerhoed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Het begint heel erg leuk. Leuke personages, worden heel goed en treffend neergezet. Niet al te serieus.

Wat ik echter moeilijk te volgen vond was de beschrijvingen vd politieke situatie in Spanje. Ze praat over burgers vs boeren vs republikeinen vs monarchisten, nationalisten, Duitse fascisten, Spaanse nazisten. En mensen die tot meerdere groepen horen. Ik kon op gegeven moment niet meer duiden of bepaalde gebeurtenissen nu positief of negatief uitgelegd moesten worden. En is de hoofdpersoon nou monarchist, nationalist of republikein? Of een nationalistische republikein? Of een andere combi? Of is nationalist en fascist of republikein hetzelfde? Ik vond het erg ingewikkeld worden.
Daarom een ster eraf.

En de laatste bladzijden, ik zal het niet verklappen, vond ik bijzonder onwaarschijnlijk.
Máár ik heb het na vier jaar lezen en weer stoppen éindelijk uitgelezen. Honderd blz minder had het boek trouwens ook niet misstaan.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up. This historical novel has all the right elements going for it. Drama, art, the clash of the 19th century and the beginning of the twentieth. Written by a journalist turned author there were too many facts and descriptions at the expense of narrative.
The story line is about three musicians brought together by fate, two Spanish and one Jewish. Their stories are intertwined with the politics of the era. I did learn something about how Spain became a fascist country but would have either liked the narrative to concentrate on that or the story of the main character Feliu, a cellist who is the main character. The denouement at the end lacks punch.

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

FABULOSO!

[Blanche]

Asumamos que no voy a leer este libro en el futuro próximo

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novel loosely based on the life of the famous cellist Pablo Casals. It was interesting, well-written and I learned a lot about life in Spain during the Spanish civil war. I have also started listening to Casals Cello Suites by Bach, which were mentioned several times in the book. Delightful music!

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book came highly recommended by a good friend of mine. I can see why she thought I would like it; the protagonist is a cellist, and the book follows his life, from his inauspicious birth through his rising career, and finally into his old age, when his life has changed dramatically.

The portions having to do with music are enthralling. It's clear the author has first-hand knowledge of the art, the pull of the instrument, the need to play. As a pianist, I identify with the main character, as well as his fellow musicians, one of whom is a celebrated pianist.

The story is set in Spain, so there is a focus on Spanish music and history, but the characters are classically trained and travel all over Europe, so a variety of real historical figures make appearances in the novel. Picasso, Mahler, Monet, Stravinsky. Hitler, Mussolini, Franco. It is a time of upheaval, both in politics and in the arts.

In theory, this book should be right up my alley. But for some reason, I found myself putting it down frequently, taking forever to get through it. It just didn't grab me. Maybe it's because, interspersed with the inspiring music, the rest of the story was downright depressing. Poverty and wars and disloyalty and depravity and constant struggling. Even when the characters are successful, they aren't happy. There's no light. Every story line that seems hopeful ultimately ends in more sadness. It's gloomy. Yes, I loved the musical aspect, but in my life, music is a good thing, a hopeful thing. I don't want to associate it with such a dreary story.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read anything like this in quite a long time. The thing with well-researched novels is that you tend to forget that they're just fiction. Spain is one of my favorite European countries, so you can just imagine my happiness reading about how it was in the olden days - specifically during the Spanish civil war and the World War II. The cameo appearances of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Picasso, and King Alfonso of Spain make this novel all the more interesting. You should read this book, I highly recommend it! The Spanish Bow is the latest addition to my growing list of favorite works of literature.

[Miss Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story of a young boy growing up with a fascination over playing the cello. The relationship of 3 musicians is explored in an historical setting in a culture is some degree of upheaval.

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in Spain in early 1900s. Musical prodigies, art, politics, and more.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't get into this one at all. Seemed far too slow for me. I gave up after 50 pages.

[Jake Tomko · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Spanish Bow was extremely well written and was worth the read. It takes place in Spain and follows Feliu in his journey to playing the cello. The story starts off explaining why Feliu is named his way. It explains that his mother had gone through multiple miscarriages, and was going to name him Felix meaning happiness. And during his birth it seemed he was going to die. As he was having problems and his hip ended up being permanently hurt during birth. As the story goes on, Feliu is placed in a cellar where he is presumed to be dead. When a government employee stops by to record the child’s name, on the death certificate, his name is spelled wrong. Permanently naming him Feliu instead of Felix. As the story goes on, on of his siblings is the one that actually checks on Feliu and learns he is still alive. As it progresses, we learn Feliu’s father died at work before his birth, leaving gifts for the children. One of them is a bow without and strings, meant for a violin. When Feliu learns to play a violin, he is scheduled to play in a concert, but before he is up, a performance goes on before. Where a cello performance moves Feliu so much he wants only to learn about the cello. When Feliu plays, he goes into this trance playing, drowning out everything else. But when he finally regains focus, it turns out he is playing the violin like a cello. And while the other performers laughed at it, one of them gives Feliu a letter recommending him to a school in Barcelona. But because of his hip and his mother, he cannot go to Barcelona. This causes a big problem, he desperately wants to play the cello, and it is all on his mind. However, he finally gets his chance but at a cost. His mother gets abused by Don Miguel, a man trying to win her heart, and after the ordeal Feliu finally gets to Barcelona. But at the school he is turned down but is given the name of a tutor Alberto. Luckily, Alberto gives them a place to stay while Feliu learns to play the cello. After a few months Feliu’s mother saves enough to buy him his very own cello, but turmoil happens when Feliu reads about how badly famous musicians were treated when they were kids. And when Feliu tries to get Alberto to act the same, Feliu is kicked out. He gets a job at a theatre and is actually able to earn some money, but for the majority of the day he has to spend on his own. This is where the book gets good, al the events leading up to this point have grabbed my attention right away, and have made me keep reading. The sequence of events are almost like a great action movie, one that doesn’t make you take your eyes off, despite being about a kid who wants to play the cello. While I wasn’t able to read the entire book, the first half was incredibly good to read.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great story that follows Spain through the 20th century up through WWII. ARL does a great job creating a musician that manages to find his way into so many important events painting a great picture what it was like to be in and around Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, and other places in the first half of the century, all through the eyes of someone from a small town in Catalonia. As much as this is about the cellist and his career and life, it is also just about how the world changed, again mostly Spain. The cellist is so involved in politics it tells a great story.

The emotions are strong, the characters are great, the stories tragic and violent, and the ending wrapped it all up nicely in a way that is very hard to do for an epic spanning 50 years. A really good book that borders on 5 stars, and I'm not totally sure what is missing to get it there, but when I think back on it a week later, it feels like a 4 star to me.

[Mirachil27 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too Many Stories

I am of two minds about this book. On the one hand, I loved it - the setting, the scope, the characters. Romano-Lax writes in sweeping bands of poetry. Her imagery takes you where she wants you to go. The story travels from rural Spain in the 1890s through the First World War, the Spanish Civil War, the rise of fascism in Europe - Franco, Mussolini, Hitler. If that sounds like a lot of ground to cover, it is. And with the passions of the protagonists whipping us to and fro, it is almost too much. It is a marvelous book and I recommend it to anyone interested in Spain. Maybe it could have benefited by being two books instead of one. But who am I to judge. This author has a lot more to offer if this book is anything to go by.

[Tricia Gardella · Rating 5 out of 5]

outstanding

There is so much I want to say about this book, I’m not sure where to begin. My favorite genre is historical fiction. But The Spanish Bow goes above and beyond what we usually find. This is informational fiction at its best with layers, subplots, great character development and so much more. Written in first person we follow the rise of a determined cello player from the late 1800s into World War 2 in a very unsettled country. Spain. What I especially loved is how Andromeda uses vignettes to keep the reader’s curiosity piqued and to move the story along. Yes, there are times one needs to suspend disbelief, but I didn’t find it a bit difficult. More difficult to believe is that this is a first attempt at fiction for this author. Bravo! I want to see more.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical fiction featuring a cellist beginning at his birth in Spain in 1892. Beautiful descriptive passages!"Duarte's cello was a glossy caramel color, and the sound it produced was as warm and rich as the instrument looked. It sounded like a human voice. Not the high warble of an opera singer or anyone else singing for the stage, but rather the soothing voice of a fisherman singing as he mended his nets, or of a mother singing lullabies to her sleepy children. When the cellist reached a crescendo on one of the lower strings, I felt a strange sensation, both pleasurable and disturbing. It reminded me of holding a cat, feeling it's purrs resonate with me."

[Shelly Lincoln · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up to 3 because the research was good and the history was excellent. BUT - the book just dragged. It covers so much and seems to lose its way at times. Music, politics, art, - lots of famous people have cameo roles in the story. It has taken me months to finish the book - the characters are not sympathetic and I did not find myself wondering how the political upheavals in Spain over a 50 year period would affect their lives. Worth reading for the exploration of the history of Spain. But the characters need more development and the storyline around which the characters revolve was just missing something.

[Yoursexylibrarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

What started out as beautifully written can't-put-it-down went downhill and soured at Part V. From this part to the end felt like a different book jammed onto the first four parts. The dialog and plot were repetitive and felt very forced. Even Justo being on the same ship as Feliu and the introduction of Aviva on that same ship felt contrived. It was an absolute chore to slog through Part V so I stopped reading.

The upside- I learned an incredible amount about the workings of a cello and was introduced to new classical pieces.

[Simon B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I noticed a few other reviewers of this book abandoned it about halfway. I might have done so too had I not read & enjoyed other of Romano-Lax's novels. But I'm very glad I persisted. Slow-paced historical epics set in early 20th century Western Europe about the intertwined lives of a cellist, a violinist and a pianist are not normally my thing. But by the second half of the novel I was fully caught-up in this clever and thoughtful story about longing, art, political committment & striving to live a meaningful life.

[Ambryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my ALL TIME FAVORITES. This will forever be a memorable read. The book cover review stated "richly atmospheric" and that's is truly accurate. I lost myself in this story. I was there. It takes a lot for me to lose myself completely. Away from the book I was in a daze dreaming about the scenes/story/characters/places. I couldn't escape it and I couldn't read it fast enough and my heart broke when it was over. Phenomenonal ❤️.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reviews for this book were mixed. I ate it up. I read this book in about a day. It had all the things I love in fiction. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and this was much different as it wasn't the main focal point of the story. I was pretty immediately invested in the characters and was almost in tears by the end. The writing is absolutely beautiful. Highly reccomend.