The Fountains of Silence in Albany Public Library

Mar 18, 2019 Alicia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical, latine, dark, female, multiple-povs, family, romance, sports-hobbies, politics-justice, religion-folklore-myth

Having had twelve hours to process the book after reading it in the span of twenty-four hours including a car ride (and I don't read in the car because well, motion-sickness, but there are just times where that needs to be overcome), I can now write a review that consists of more than hearts and exclamation points.

Picking stories that represent dark times in our global history is likely the easiest part, but deciding to tell it with the emotional strength and depth required can only be trusted Having had twelve hours to process the book after reading it in the span of twenty-four hours including a car ride (and I don't read in the car because well, motion-sickness, but there are just times where that needs to be overcome), I can now write a review that consists of more than hearts and exclamation points.

Picking stories that represent dark times in our global history is likely the easiest part, but deciding to tell it with the emotional strength and depth required can only be trusted to a few writers. Sepetys is one of those chosen few, and chosen because three books have already solidified her ability to write historical fiction and this one is equally captivating. Her appeal lies with adults and young adults who want to access the worlds she opens up. In this story, there are four characters who intersect in mesmerizing ways: Spanish brother and sister Ana and Rafa, their cousin Puri, and the American-- Daniel. Their connections unfold in a series of suspenseful, dark, sentimental, and deeply personal ways in and around the Castellana Hilton, a hotel that's a piece of the United States inside Madrid, Spain during the tumultuous and tenuous reign of Generalissimo Franco. The policies and practices that emerge lead to tragedy that Puri begins to uncover while Daniel as an outsider who pines for Ana also discovers additional stories when using the lens of his camera. Everyone has a story to tell.

There are characters you'll love to hate and characters you want to fall in love. One thing is for sure, you'll fall in love with Sepetys again. Storytelling is her passion and her purpose. And the power of the story is similar to Doerr's All The Light We Cannot See and Hannah's The Nightingale and the length and span of the story to Julie Berry's newest Lovely War. Whether readers are understanding the importance of dress for a bullfighter or poverty in Vallecas. I had no problem following the array of characters because they are all instrumental, even as the book moves forward in time and new secrets emerge, I would have gladly welcomed more.

It's the nuanced relationships and evocative time period that teach us about humanity. The setting creates is own set of problems and character so anyone who has visited will easily recognize it while those who haven't (me) can understand through Sepetys' choices what we didn't experience firsthand. She's a guide for epic stories of love and loss, politics and economics. The human toll of dictatorship. The secrets and the danger of secrecy. There was a constant pull to uncover and understand, so when Sepetys adds a confessional and power struggles, money and beauty, no one is ever quite certain who to trust but that in that, we can only imagine why even now there a vow of silence as Spain moves on.

One thing is for certain: this book is layered. It can be re-read as one of the three books someone would take on a deserted island and never tire of whether I'm staring at the cover or remembering all that unfolded between the pages. It's masterful and a book I will continue to re-live. ...more

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Mar 25, 2019 Kristen M. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, conformity, religion, catholic-church, fascism, secrets

Ruta Sepetys delivers in this incredible historical fiction novel set in Madrid, Spain in the late 1950s during Franco's dictatorship. I lived in Madrid for a semester in college with a Spanish woman who did not speak English. I was transported back in time to the bullfights, the food, the reverence for family, the dizzying heat and of course, the fountains.

The subversive use of photography by the main character Daniel captures the fear, the unseen and the forbidden in Franco's Spain. The refer ...more

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Jul 14, 2023 Melissapalmer404 rated it it was amazing

This was the only book by Sepetys that I hadn't read....and I loved it, as usual. This one is set during Franco's dictatorship in Spain. Daniel is a young man from Texas spending time in Spain with his parents; Ana is a maid at the hotel he's staying at. They have a deep connection. It's a love story, honest historical fiction and a family saga all rolled in to one. Highly recommend! ...more

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Feb 29, 2020 Annie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is my first Ruta Sepetys book, but it will not be my last. This is an era and place I know almost nothing about, so I spent quite a bit of time searching for images. I love the quotes interspersed, and the sources and images at the end. There were quite a lot of plot threads, and I did occasionally struggle with making connections I should have made earlier - maybe it's because I was reading so quickly. 😊 ...more

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Nov 14, 2020 Rose rated it really liked it

More mature than most YA I've read, and a really intriguing period in history. ...more

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Nov 16, 2020 Mirkat rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I confess that prior to reading this book, everything I knew about the Spanish civil war came from reading Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. The Fountains of Silence opens in the long aftermath of the war, in 1957, when Generalissimo Francisco Franco's regime continued to punish those who had supported the democratically established Second Spanish Republic that Franco and his followers had overthrown. At that point, it has been 18 years since Franco's fascist government took power.

Ana I confess that prior to reading this book, everything I knew about the Spanish civil war came from reading Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. The Fountains of Silence opens in the long aftermath of the war, in 1957, when Generalissimo Francisco Franco's regime continued to punish those who had supported the democratically established Second Spanish Republic that Franco and his followers had overthrown. At that point, it has been 18 years since Franco's fascist government took power.

Ana Torres Moreno is fortunate to work in the elegant Castellana Hilton Madrid, formerly a castle. Everything she makes helps support her family, which consists of her older sister Julia, Julia's husband Antonio, their baby, and Ana's older brother Rafael. Ana's parents, academics who supported the Republic, were killed during the war. The Torres Moreno family is saddled with crippling debt and secrets, as it is not safe to belong to a family who had been aligned with the "wrong" side.

Eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson is a guest in the hotel, along with his parents. His father helms a Texas oil company and seeks a contract with Franco. His mother is Spanish, and Daniel is fully bilingual.

Daniel's passion is photography, and he aspires to be a photojournalist. His father expects him to go into the family business. Daniel soon learns he must be very careful about the photographs he takes. Openly photographing forbidden topics in view of Franco's officers can land him in serious trouble.

Ana has been assigned to Daniel's family, and it is not long before there is a spark between them. For Ana, a romantic relationship is out of the question, as that is strictly forbidden and could cost her the job.

This is a BIG book covering so many aspects of life under the Franco regime. It also covers a long span in the characters' lives. I don't want to give anything away, but I am glad to have found this book through the Albany Public Library Forever YA book club. I am rushing to finish this review because we meet this evening, and I don't want our discussion to influence my review!

Although I shelved the Kindle version of this book, I used both the audio and ebook versions, going back and forth between the two. Interspersed throughout the book are archival sources about Franco's Spain, including newspaper clips and oral histories. In the audio version, these are read by a different narrator and delivered like a radio broadcast. I enjoyed the delivery. ...more

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Sep 06, 2021 Casey rated it really liked it

Historical fiction + YA + mystery + romance = The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys. This novel has a bit of everything!

1950s Madrid - Daniel, the son of an oil tycoon who strives to be a photojournalist, meets Ana, a young woman who shows him the raw and intimate sides of life in Spain under dictatorship. They get swept up in each other and put in danger when Daniel captures photos of heartbreaking actions the government keeps silenced.

This is an emotional story, especially so because it’s b ...more

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Nov 11, 2020 Anne C rated it really liked it

Well done but, as someone with an infant, did not find it enjoyable. It was painful to read.

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Dec 05, 2019 Jo Ann Mulligan rated it it was amazing

What a beautiful book. I loved the history of this book and I knew some about Franco’s reign in Spain but not the extent of it and I hope to read more about it. A heartbreaking but beautiful book.

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