📚The Fountains of Silence was an eye-opening journey into the tangled web of fear and secrecy during Spain's fascist regime under General Francisco Franco's rule. As always, Sepetys shines her light on little-known history, and brings her readers smack dab into the middle of a tragedy so hidden, that it is never even mentioned in history books.
📚Set in The Hotel Castellana Hilton, we follow a young, Daniel Matheson, the son of well-to-do Texans, visiting his mother's homeland. It isn’t long before this budding photographer meets Ana, a lowly employee of the hotel, who is hesitant to share too much of the ugly truth behind this “fantasy hotel". The Hotel Castellana was certainly a fantasy with respect to the facade being projected to all visitors. One needed merely peek beneath the surface to find the hopelessness and misery that made the reverie possible. The problem was that so few were willing to sacrifice their life of privilege to dig deeper and uncover the truth. Sadly, this is often the case.
📚I would argue that recent events have shown us how we have benefitted from being silent while reaping the benefits of a marginalized nation. So, in that respect, I can see how easy it would have been to play in this privileged playground, and ignore the desperation bubbling so close to the surface. Franco was a master of smoke and mirrors, and this hotel was one of the many ways he fooled so many for so long.
📚As a crossover author, Sepetys is deft in her ability to bring awareness to important history to both young and old alike. The only disadvantage to this, is that sometimes the novels lack the profundity that can only be achieved for an adult audience - where concepts and relationships can be explored without concern for age-appropriateness. However, I will gladly give up my need to go deeper to allow the younger generation to take part in her brilliant journeys.
Read 9/26/20
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