This novel begins amid the political and civil upheaval of 1980's Columbia and is inspired by real characters and events. The author was inspired to write this story by a tapestry created by one of the leading women in Columbia's peace movement. Indeed the lives of the three main female characters are threads which unravel and eventually weave together as the war impacts each of them in differing but equally brutal ways.
There is redemption in the final chapter where we see these women , among others, tending and befriending each other , overcoming terror and helplessness through the nascent Women for Peace Initiative.
The novel is fast paced and immediate. At times the three main characters voice their own stories and at times they appear in third person narrative. The male characters only ever appear in third person narrative, possibly to emphasize the female perspective.
Some of the commonly recognized Latina words are not translated and add to the story by giving a sense of place while the action moves around the country and through generations. 
Overall this is a story of hope amid despair , the futility of armed conflict , the power of community and a reminder that much of our destiny is a function of the society into which we are born.

In the introduction to Spiral Of Silence we learn that Sanchez-Blake was initially inspired by a tapestry she saw in a handicrafts shop in Colombia. It depicted a female figure and had been created by the shop's owner, a woman who was a leading light in the Colombian women's peace movement. Sanchez-Blake would have loved to have bought the tapestry, but it was priced far above an amount her student budget could stretch to so, instead, she returned several times to view it and to listen to stories of Colombia's recent past and the roles of women during the decades of civil war. Those stories became this novel. Authenticity shines through each of the main and secondary characters and, whether I actually liked each woman or not, I found myself easily believing in them.



Spiral Of Silence encompasses all sides of the spectrum through turbulent decades and shows that women's experiences were surprisingly familiar regardless of their family's wealth or political leanings. Colombia's wars were engineered and fought by men - at one point a husband actually tells his wife 'this is a man's war' - and it seems women were expected to passively accept the all too frequent deaths of their husbands, sons, fathers, brothers, ... not expecting that their individual protests would even be heard, let alone acted upon. Sanchez-Blake focuses on three women, each of whom is illustrative of a different part of Colombian society. Through them I learned a lot more about the political situation and was strongly reminded of the myriad warring parties in 1930s Spain. A similar confusion of factions looks to be case here.



This novel takes place over at least two decades and I felt as though there was some fluidity of time which could occasionally be confusing. Sanchez-Blake also frequently changes narrative focus between the women and also between first and third person. This could have caused confusion too, but I really liked the way it was done. The first person sections are generally brief and add a sense of excitement and immediacy to their scenes. I thought the translation here was excellent. Words whose meanings are pretty obvious aren't translated at all - for example comandante for commander - so we are frequently reminded that these are Latina people. As the storylines begin to converge, the atmosphere darkens considerably. We know the novel cannot end well and the ending is, for me, perfectly judged - uplifting, but also poignantly sad.

The story is set during the Colombia’s Civil War, fought between governments and far-left guerrillas. The author was inspired by a tapestry and other pieces including a banner with the slogan: “No more war! No more hate! No more blood!” while attending the Peace Communities Arts and Crafts. The artists were women, “led by Maria Teresa Giraldo, who created the Eastern Antioquia Peace Community. Its members are mothers, wives, and daughters committed to the cause of ending the war and getting their men back.” They armed themselves with posters, “burst into the middle of the combat zone carrying flags and chanting: “No more war! No more hate! No more blood!”

The story is presented through three women, opening in the early 1980s.

Mariate, 15 year old, gives birth to her baby Miguel Angel in prison. She was arrested for weapon possession, which she wasn’t aware off until the day it was discovered at her house, at the bottom of a trunk hidden by her boyfriend, Julian – a guerrilla fighter. The list of her crimes was long, including conspiracy against the state. A nun at the prison taught her how to knit. So she started creating tiny sweaters, caps, and ponchos for her baby.

Norma, 35 year old, from privileged family, can’t have children. One day, her husband, Colonel Ricardo, brings a baby home. His explanation is that he did it for his sister, who was a nun superior at a prison and asked him to take care of the baby of a prisoner, since the foster system was like a death sentence. 

Amparo, 17 year old, works at a juice stand in a village and dreams about going to Miami, becoming rich and famous. Her father, a policeman, moved his family from a city to a small village, thinking this was a better place for his family. But it turned out differently. Now the guerrillas were controlling their village.

In 1982, “Law 35 granted amnesty to political prisoners and gave president special powers to create a Peace Commission to negotiate with armed groups.” It makes Colonel Ricardo furious as his power is slipping away. Not only that, but now the baby would have to be returned to the mother.

Now, Ricardo and his military men are deciding which out of two evils: naro-traffickers or the guerrillas, are more beneficial for their purpose.

Once out of prison, Mariate weaves a tapestry, the colors she picks represent her feeling, reflecting the country’s situation. 

Towards the end, there are some parts which are a bit descriptive with civil war issues and among those descriptions the story of the women gets disconnected. Nevertheless, overall the story is interesting, touching upon hopelessness of women, who chose to have a voice.

Spiral of Silence, struck me hard, in the political climate we are currently in, this novel is much needed.  I am so glad to have gotten my hands on this book, thanks to NetGalley, because we traditionally hear about "wars" and "revolutions" from a man's point of view.  This is what we needed, a woman's voice to be heard, the female experience through the times of oppression, the ones that uplift after the world shatters us all down.

When you see the #METOO movement, Pink Hats, taking to the streets, when a man gets murdered and justice is not being served, the women are at the forefront.  The WOMEN can change the world, they have already helped stop wars, seek justice, bring attention to issues, we just need MORE of them to be heard and to walk on a path of inclusiveness.  Like what happened in Spiral of Silence.

The novel, Spiral of Silence, was woven beautifully to give life to the voices of "3 or maybe 4" women.  How their strength and perseverance above all can bring forth changes and unite us all.  Beautiful just a beautiful novel.

Three women, three different lives, interwoven by the civil war in Columbia, grief, hope and struggle to survive in difficult times.
I do not know enough about the civil war in Colombia to really understand who is who, which group was fighting for what, but I guess that's just the reality of civil wars. You don't really know whom you can trust and who will fight for your rights. And there are never winners. 

It takes some time to get used to the three different POVs and the constant change from first to third person, but the story is gripping and sadly realistic.

Sánchez-Blake portrays Colombia's Civil war, exploring gender relations and sexism, in the context of social upheaval and confilct, emphasizing on the female experience, on women's feelings of trauma, loss and hopelessness during this tense period in Latin American history. She writes in the Postscript: "When I wrote "Spiral of Silence" in the first decade of the new millennium, many of these initiatives were just at the seed. I never envisioned that the cry portrayed by the women's cooperative at the end of the novel foresaw the clamor of real women connecting efforts and strength against a war that had lasted so many decades. The prediction has come true, and hopefully, Colombia will finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and will cast off the dubious title of site of Latin America's longest political conflict, in favor of one of inspiration as it ushers in a historical transition to a postconflict era."