Product Description

After twelve years in Spain, Jason Webster had developed a deep love for his adopted homeland; his life there seemed complete. But when he and his Spanish wife moved into an idyllic old farmhouse in the mountains north of Valencia, by chance he found an unmarked mass grave from the Spanish Civil War on his doorstep. Spurred to investigate the history of the Civil War, a topic many of his Spanish friends still seemed to treat as taboo, he began to uncover a darker side to the country. Witness to a brutal fist-fight sponsored by remnants of Franco's Falangists, arrested and threatened by the police in the former HQ of the Spanish Foreign Legion, sheltered by a beautiful transvestite, shunned by locals, haunted by ghosts and finally robbed of his identity, Webster encountered a legacy of cruelty and violence that seems to linger on seventy years after the bloody events of that war. As in Webster's previous books, "Duende" and "Andalus", !"Guerra"! reveals the essence of modern Spain, which few outsiders ever manage to see. Fascinating true stories from the Civil War, vividly retold as he travels around the country. Yet the more Webster unveils of the passions that set one countryman against another, the more he is led to wonder: could the dark, primitive currents that ripped the country apart in the 1930s still be stirring under the sophisticated, worldly surface of today's Spain?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47478 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Sunday Times
Reads like a political thriller...Webster writes staggeringly
well.

Sunday Telegraph
'Moving and succinct...generous and humane...Webster definitively joins the long line of Anglophone writers who have interpreted Spain to the world.’

From the Inside Flap
After twelve years in Spain, Jason Webster had developed a deep love for his adopted homeland; his life there seemed complete. But when he and his Spanish wife moved into an idyllic old farmhouse in the mountains north of Valencia, by chance he found an unmarked mass grave from the Spanish Civil War on his doorstep.Spurred to investigate the history of the Civil War, a topic many of his Spanish friends still seemed to treat as taboo, he began to uncover a darker side to the country. Witness to a brutal fist-fight sponsored by remnants of Franco’s Falangists, arrested and threatened by the police in the former HQ of the Spanish Foreign Legion, sheltered by a beautiful transvestite, shunned by locals, haunted by ghosts and finally robbed of his identity, Webster encountered a legacy of cruelty and violence that seems to linger on seventy years after the bloody events of that war.

As in Webster’s previous books, Duende and Andalus, ¡Guerra! reveals the essence of modern Spain, which few outsiders ever manage to see. Fascinating true stories from the Civil War, vividly retold as he travels around the country, form a concise and compelling introduction to the period, from the murder ofLorca to the siege of the Alcázar and the fire-bombing of Guernica. Yet the more Webster unveils of the passions that set one countryman against another, the more his is led to wonder: could the dark, primitive currents that ripped the country apartin the 1930s still be stirring under the sophisticated, worldly surface oftoday’s Spain?

Customer Reviews

A very good introduction to the Civil War
It is extraordinary how many books are written by foreigners about Spain, especially the Civil War, but here is a new title to add to an illustrious list headed by names such as Hugh Thomas, Paul Preston and Ian Gibson. This is less a history book, as a personal interpretation of the war, and how its effects can still be felt in Spain today. Colourful episodes from the war itself are interspersed with the author's journeys around the country, visiting such sites as Franco's tomb in el Valle de los Caidos near Madrid, or the ruins of the town of Belchite near Zaragoza. Along the way he meditates on issues such as death and conflict, as well as the eternal division between the 'Two Spains' - a topic that he resolves amusingly and insightfully in the character of 'Kiki' - a transvestite friend in Madrid. For readers who know little about the Spanish Civil War this is the perfect place to start. For those who do know about it, they wil find something fresh and different in Jason Webster's vision of this most tragic event in history.

This author just gets better each book he publishes
I have read all three of Webster's books, my passion for Spain traceable to having spend ten years in the country as a child. It is hard to say why, but Webster nails so many essential aspects of the feel of the culture that I am transported and drawn into my own memories. Unlike Duende, a spirited memoir of naivite and first love and Andalus, a scholarly and impressionistic tour de horizon of the impact of the 800 years of Moorish influence on Spain and Europe as a whole seen through the doubting eyes of a modern moor, a Morrocan illegal imigrant Webster befriends and protects, Guerra is far darker. Death, the stench of the decay of the unjustly killed, permeates this book. The writing is, however, so fine as to compell you to keep turning the pages. I found I had to know and trusted Webster's retelling to inform me of what I had so far hidden from myself. Like something horific you cannot bear to look at, the Spanish civil war is an object lesson we must all take to heart. Not least today's Spaniards. If we forget what happened there is always the danger of history repeating itself in some perverse variation or echo. Webster's revisting of this key period in 20th century political history is therefore a warning. The cameos, like Kiki the wise transformista (transexual), are all superb and I for one would buy that particular feisty and wise lady dinner at the drop of a hat. What a character. I wonder what Webster will do next. Three classic works in a row is a hard act to follow. If you have not read him, this is a good place to begin - then read the others.

Webster does it yet again!
Jason Webster picks topics/aspects that are typical of Spain but has a superb talent for being able to offer a completely fresh and interesting perspective of them. In "Guerra" [the Spanish word for "war"] he sets off around Spain in search of traces and effects of the Spanish Civil War on and in the country today, giving a simple and interesting account of what is actually a very complex event and issue in Spanish history. This account is accompanied by descriptions of some of his darker experiences during the journey, of some of the interesting and helpful characters, and of some of the nastier, unhelpful ones he meets along the way. But for all the darkness, Webster leaves the reader feeling hopeful and optimistic in the final chapter, "Perpignan", - I won't spoil it for you! - a chapter which I found particularly pleasant and beautiful.

This is a great book about Spain, whether you know a lot about the country or otherwise. It's easy to read and, more importantly, is highly enjoyable.