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About the Book
Sonia and James are in trouble. Despite the perfect wedding, the big house in Wandsworth and the weekends in the country, they have grown as distant under the surface as their well-heeled friends. James is drinking too much and Sonia seeks escape in her weekly dance lessons.
So when Maggie, Sonia’s oldest friend, announces that she is whisking Sonia off to celebrate her birthday in Granada, Sonia doesn’t demur. In Spain the girls learn the rhythm of salsa and the raw passion of flamenco, and by night practise their new skills in the local bars. It is while Maggie is sleeping off her hangover that Sonia wanders the backstreets and discovers a quiet café, El Barril, and its friendly old bartender, Miguel. Over several visits and café con leche, the two strike up an unlikely friendship. Sonia is intrigued by old photographs of a beautiful flamenco dancer displayed on the wall, and Miguel embarks on the extraordinary tale behind them, of a family’s fight to survive the horror of Spain’s civil war …
Seventy years earlier and Granada, under a new liberal government, is a place of freedom and optimism. In the Ramírez family's café, Concha and Pablo's children relish an atmosphere of hope. Antonio is a serious young socialist teacher, Ignacio a handsome and flamboyant matador, and Emilio a gentle soul and skilled musician. Their sister, Mercedes, has a talent for flamenco. When she meets Javier Montero, a famous young gypsy guitarra, she persuades him to play for her. Her dancing astounds Javier, and they fall deeply in love.
But Spain is a country in turmoil, and in 1936 a revolution begins that will tear their family apart. As Antonio is lured into battle, Mercedes resolves to go in search of Javier and embarks on a journey that will take her through war-ravaged Spain and ultimately to the safe shores of Britain. It is here, many years later, that she meets a new dance partner and begins a life that Sonia discovers is more relevant to her than she ever could have envisaged…
Reader Reviews
‘An enthralling novel from the author of ‘The Island’ that lays bare the pain and passion of the Spanish Civil War.’ Jill Phillips, Waterstone’s Windsor
‘The book had me in tears as I became wrapped up in its revelations’ A reader on Amazon
‘I have never read a book which has stirred my emotions in such a way as this one’ A reader on Amazon
‘I absolutely loved this book’ A reader on Amazon
Read more about the book in The Times
Find out more about the author
Reading Group discussion question
Find out more about THE ISLAND
Buy the book:
Tesco, Amazon, Waterstones, Play.com
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