Name: The Fountains of Silence
Rating: 4.25 (138 reviews)
ISBN: 9780399160318

Ruta Sepetys

At the Castellana Hilton in 1957 Madrid, eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson connects with Ana Moreno through photography and fate as Daniel discovers the incredibly dark side of the city under Generalissimo Franco's rule.

The Fountains of Silence

Naiya

Melissa Palmer

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!

Vicky (A City Girl's Thoughts)

In reality 4 & 1/2 stars since the ending makes it sound like incest is ok.

You can feel the sadness and heartache of the Spanish characters as they try to navigate living in a fascist country that abuses and twists Christianity - specifically Catholicism. I'm not Catholic but I can tell certain parts that all Christians regardless of denomination must follow are twisted by General Franco and the religious leaders. Septys captured this time period with grace and grit, such as seamlessly transitioning from the opulent hotel where Daniel Matheson is residing to the gritty streets of Ana's neighborhood. The ending is neither happy or sad but reflects how hopeful and stressed Spaniards were during Spain's transition after Franco died.

If you want to read a historical fiction novel based on Spain's fascist this time period this is the book for you!

Ana Paula

I´ve had this book forever and I´m so happy to have finally picked it up
From the historical bits to the fiction (the characters´ lives and feelings), this book was amazing; it´s wonderfully written. Proof?: this is the first time in quite a bit that I stay up so late (12:30 m) to finish + review a book.

// spanish review // 
Me apena decir que no sabía mucho de la dictadura militar en España, solo lo que sería considerado de "general knowledge" y eso hizo que este libro fuera muchisímo más interesante. 
Explico: Usualmente al leer y no saber sobre algo (ya sea una danza, comida o acontecimiento histórico) lo primero que hago es buscar, puedo pasar horas sin avanzar en el libro por ver videos y leer noticias al respecto. 
Sinceramente iba a darle cuatro estrellas al libro, pero el hecho que me inspirará a leer y aprender más sobre la historia española definitivamente merece la estrella extra.
Y tener todo este conocimiento fresco, me permitió disfrutar del libro tanto como lo hice; desde una perspectiva meramente literaria pero también personal, es increíble (-mente triste) como se relacionan aspectos de la dictadura en el libro que resuenan fuertemente en dictaduras recientes en Latinoamérica.

Steph L 

If you're looking for a book that's about a time few people know about, consider this one. I went in knowing nothing about the Spanish Civil War, and I felt like I learned something. This book also has a wonderful cast if characters and a plot to keep you engaged.

Mary Horton

Hm. I have mixed feelings about this.

RTC (heh, hopefully)

Eloise

** spoiler alert **
           When I saw the cover and official synopsis of this book, I couldn’t wait to have this book in my hands! Ruta Sepetys has become a historical fiction author who is not only an author that continues to amaze me with teaching me about lost chapters in history, but I believe her books are important. They contain stories of people who are experiencing or have experienced trauma during rough times in history and how they find hope and overcome it. That’s especially the case with this book. I had no idea that Franco was the leader of Spain after WWII and also that he was aided by Hitler and Mussolini! That alone shocked me with that bit of history. But of course, this story that’s being told is raw, honest, but also full of hope and finding yourself and what you really want.

The book is set in Spain in 1957. We follow Daniel, a boy from Texas, who comes to Madrid, after his father is able to drill for oil here in Spain. He’s a photographer who wants to gather photos of Spain for a photography contest, as well as find his Spanish roots since his mother was born in Spain. Despite him having Spanish roots, he feels like an outsider as he tries to understand a country that’s both hiding secrets and is also tied to him. He meets Ana, a girl who works at the Castella Hilton that his family is staying at. Ana is a girl whose parents were murdered for being Republicans during the Spanish Civil War and she also yearns to connect with Daniel despite her family ties to the last effects of the war. As both of them grow closer, Daniels starts to see, through his photographs, the horrible things the war has done to Spain and his people and he wonder how he can protect those he loves.

I loved Daniel and Ana so much! Daniel is a young man trying to not only pursue his passion, but also understand the truth about what Spain went through, despite being treated as an outsider. I loved his honest intentions to know the truth and the way Sepetys describes him taking the photos and the captions for each photo is haunting in its own way. The way he learns the truth about the war’s effects are a harsh reality and my heart broke for what happened in this time in history. Daniel’s POV is from an outsider looking in, as Sepetys was herself when researching this novel and I loved seeing how Daniel grew from this trip to Spain.

Then, there’s Ana; I sensed her quiet desperation for connection from when she first meets Daniel. She lives in a small hut like structure with her siblings Rafa and her older sister Juliet, her husband Antonio and their little baby girl Lali. This family has suffered so much from what happened to their parents during the war and you see how there’s tension among these siblings of how they each want to either keep silent or try and be their own person. Their family bond felt so real and I cared for their situation. It’s so heartbreaking to know that people have felt this way during this time and how some can even feel this way today. But I loved how Ana still followed her heart, despite the fine line she was walking. She has secrets of her own and her character arc was natural and complicated.

We also follow Rafa, Ana’s brother and his friend Fuga. Fuga is set out to be a famous matador and he’s a mysterious person. Not even Rafa know’s Fuga’s real name or birthday, but they are brothers in arms. They had lived through the horrors of one of the many boys home that existed in Spain, where they were tortured and abused by nuns and other workers in these homes and you can see how Rafa still stays positive despite his past, but also how it channels Fuga in his dream. Fuga was actually my favorite character in the whole book. While he hardly speaks and isn’t a main character, his fierce spirit captivated me immediately. I liked seeing the friendship between these two and how they trained and pursued their dream. Both of these boys were proof that a civil war couldn’t prevent you from being who you were and overcoming your personal demons. Their story line was both emotional but also perfectly written and I know that Fuga will stay with me for a long time.

I also really enjoyed the side characters that you get to know in this book. There’s Nick, a rich kid from the States that becomes a friend to Nick at the hotel. You have Ben, an older man whose a reporter and takes Daniel under his wing to be a real photographer and even help Daniel as he tries to discover the truth. I liked how he was a true mentor to Daniel and his wisdom really helped shape Daniel into the man he becomes. There’s also Puri, a young girl who volunteers in the orphanage and clinics with the nuns. She has questions of her own about her identity and a secret that Spain is hiding. While I did want more closure from Puri’s story, I did appreciate her POV into this secret and how a girl was asking so many questions and trying to find the courage to answer those tough questions.
I appreciate this book so much and I really hope this will resonate with so many people! The snippets of politicians and other people were affiliates with Spain, along with the photographs and author’s note added more richness and harsh reality to this book. While this book is longer, I read huge chunks at a time and the time flew by very fast when reading this. I got lost in 1957 Spain whenever I opened the book and I didn’t want to put it down. This is a very important book and I can’t wait to see what Sepetys writes next. Salt to the Sea is still my favorite book by her, but this one still really packs a punch!

courtney garrison

God what a book. This was beautiful, tragic, romantic and brutal look into the spainish civil war and the events that took place after the nationalist won. Full review to come.

Stefanie Sugia

"Some were desperate to remember and others were desperate to forget. We all have our reasons."
  
I've been a huge fan of Ruta Sepetys ever since I read her debut novel, Between Shades of Gray (it's also one of the earliest book reviews that I wrote on my blog), back in 2011. Historical fiction is not a genre that I always lean towards, but I would read anything that's written by Ruta Sepetys because she's such an incredible storyteller. The way she writes makes me interested in the real history behind her stories. I'm always invested in the characters that she created and I tend to feel attached to them emotionally. That's exactly how I feel when I read this book. To be honest, I'm not really familiar with the history of Spain. I'm not a huge history fan to begin with, and Spain is just not a place that I have a lot of interest in. But I picked up this book anyway solely because it's written by Ruta Sepetys 😂.

This novel is set in Madrid, Spain—in the year 1957—so I learned a lot about the Spanish Civil War and what happened afterwards under the dictatorship of Generalisimo Francisco Franco that I've never knew before. Thankfully, throughout the novel (in between chapters), the author includes vintage media interstitials and oral history commentary to help the readers have a better grasp of the situation back then. I think that really helped a lot in understanding the story better. So if you're not a huge fan of history like me, don't worry, you'll be able to enjoy this book well.
  “Sometimes the truth is dangerous, Julia. But we should search for it nonetheless."
The story is written in third person point of view, but the chapters alternately focuses on different main characters. It took me a while to immerse myself into the story because from the very beginning, the author introduced several characters at once. We're first introduced to the family of five: Julia (the oldest sister) and her husband Antonio, Rafa (the second child), Ana (the youngest), and Julia's daughter, Lali. After the death of their parents, they all struggled to find jobs to sustain themselves because of their parents' opposition to Franco. Ana worked at the Castellana Hilton Hotel, and that's where she met Daniel Matheson, the son of a Texas oil tycoon, whose father is making a deal with Franco himself. However, Daniel is more interested in photography instead of his dad's oil business; so he asked Ana to take him around town to take pictures—which slowly revealed to him Spain's dark side. We also met Puri, Ana's cousin, who works at the Inclusa—a place for Madrid's abandoned or illegitimate children. Puri's curiosity led her to digging into some secrets that were buried inside the Inclusa.

This book is such a page-turner; because each chapters are fairly short and most of them ends on a mysterious note that makes me want to keep reading. There's a lot of mysteries during the first-half of the book and I have a lot of questions about the characters. Everyone seems to have a secret of their own; and the author slowly revealed it through a series of events that increases the tension of the story. One of my favorite scene is when each of the characters went into the confessional booth—which I think is a brilliant way to tell the readers a snippet about the secrets that they've been keeping from one another so far. I won't reveal any details in this review because I think it'll take away the excitement of reading this book. I really enjoyed the plot of the story from start to finish. The dark secret about Spain that was revealed towards the end really surprised me. I never knew that something like that could ever happen, but the history has recorded it—which makes me sad thinking about how those families would feel at the time. The second part of this book took place around 18 years after the events in the first part, when Franco died and Spain is no longer under his dictatorship. Can't really say what happens in the second part because I'll be spoiling the ending; but I'll just say that it really warms my heart and makes me smile. It was a beautiful reunion that I've been hoping for ❤️. I'm glad Ruta Sepetys didn't decide to give a sad ending to this story.
  "Yes! But fear brings dimension to our lives. Without fear we will never meet courage."

  "How can courage be so still, when fear is so powerful?"
Most of the characters in this book are lovable. My favorite one has to be Daniel; because he's a genuinely nice person and very charming too. His character sheds some light in the midst of the dark side of Madrid; and his interaction with Ana is the most adorable thing in this book 🥰. Another favorite character of mine is Rafa. In this book, someone said that Rafa was tortured horribly when he was sent to some reformatory joint. Despite his dark past, Rafa still exudes warmth, enthusiasm, and determination without an ounce of bitterness. I think he's an inspiring character in this book because he keeps being hopeful even though his situation showed him otherwise. He's ecstatic about simple things, and that makes him a lovable character in this book. All the other characters also have their own charms. They're all young adults and innocent youths who struggled through life, having to be silent and keep their secrets concealed.

Overall, I'm really glad I get to read another beautifully written book by Ruta Sepetys and I even got to learn something new about the history of Spain. I truly enjoyed it from start to finish. I wouldn't put this book down if I don't have any other responsibilities because the plot always kept me on the edge of my seat and I'm always curious to see what's going to happen next. This book has touched my heart with its' amazing characters and it definitely left a deep impression in me. I'm definitely looking forward to Ruta Sepetys's next book because I can't wait to read more of her writing!"Si, life is struggle. But he will commit wholly to the struggle and find meaning in it, rather than trying to silence it. Fear is an unholy ghost, but it is one thing that Franco and the Crows can never take from him—his freedom to fight fear."

Read the full review here:
http://www.thebookielooker.com/2019/1...

Charmaine

Just wow. Ruta Sepetys is such a masterful storyteller. Best historical fiction I've read so far. This book covered so many universal concepts that I can't even begin to name them all. I'm literally blown away.

Ellie Younger

I started this book at 10 am and finished it at 12 that night— fully absorbed in the characters, dedicated to the story and anxious to learn what happened next i literally could not put it down. i learned so much about the history of spain, child disappearances and the oppressions ignored under franco’s dictatorship.

Torrey

I absolutely adore Ruta Sepetys' books and this is no exception. If you are expecting this to be like her past books, don't as it is very different. It follows Daniel as he travels to Spain during the rule of the dictator Francisco Franco. You follow him as he explores Spain as an outsider, while also getting the perspectives of characters that live under the dictator and see a very different version of Spain. While I quite enjoyed this book and loved getting to know the characters, this book won't be for everyone. If you enjoy a more plot driven book, this might not be the book for you. The Fountains of Silence is very character driven throughout the whole book and has a slower pacing. The ending was a little predictable, but I didn't mind it. This book is also extremely informative and taught me so much about a period of history I had never learned about before.

Nadine 

Interesting well written book on the Franco regime in Spain from the perspective of a visiting American teen. 
Explains what is a very complex situation in understandable terms for YA

Aundreya Rich

What a great leap back into reading historical fiction.
This book jumps between multiple narratives showing the struggles in Spain and the dictatorship of Franco.
It left me feeling proud to understand more of this country and thankful for my freedom, something I think people take for granted.

There are tough subjects, but all I believe deserved to be heard.

I would highly recommend it ❤️

Maxie Froelicher

I did not expect to cry at the end of this book, but I really did. There’s so much I did not know about the Spanish Civil War, and I’m grateful to know more information. The authenticity of the characters in this novel, the events, the fear, the emotions. It hits hard, and I’m so grateful again for this novel and Ruta for bringing it to us.

The clips of historical quotes at the ends of chapters also helped to bring the story to life, to make it more real for the reader, or in my case, listener. 

This novel is powerful, I highly recommend it to anyone who cares at all about history, or any curiosity of the Spanish Civil War. 

Read for the Around the World in 52 Books prompt 21: A book whose title and author both contain the letter "u"
And 
The Bloom Where You’re Planted prompt: Historical Romance

Tiffany Robinson

I really struggled to finish this one. I didn't like that it kept changing POVs, I thought it would have been better if it focused on one or two people instead. I felt like I didnt really know the characters in depth. And the story moved so slowly that infound it boring. Then the ending felt unresolved and rushed.

2.75, it has so much potential but man it just fell flat

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I bought this book! Support your authors!

Book: The Fountains of Silence

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 1/5

Publication Date: October 1, 2019

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Recommended Age: can’t recommend, DNFed

Publisher: Philomel Books

Pages: 512

Amazon Link

Synopsis: Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists and foreign businessmen flood into Spain under the welcoming promise of sunshine and wine. Among them is eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson, the son of an oil tycoon, who arrives in Madrid with his parents hoping to connect with the country of his mother's birth through the lens of his camera. Photography--and fate--introduce him to Ana, whose family's interweaving obstacles reveal the lingering grasp of the Spanish Civil War--as well as chilling definitions of fortune and fear. Daniel's photographs leave him with uncomfortable questions amidst shadows of danger. He is backed into a corner of difficult decisions to protect those he loves. Lives and hearts collide, revealing an incredibly dark side to the sunny Spanish city.

Review: Another book I had to DNF. I couldn’t get into it as much as I love history and I thought that the pacing and plot were very slow coming. The characters weren’t interesting or developed in my opinion and the book had a lot of events that I thought were uneventful.

Verdict: Not for me.

The Fountains of Silence

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