I really wanted to like this based on the premise. Unfortunately, this book fell short. Barbara was not a likeable protagonist, many parts of her story felt very rushed, very naive. In that sense, I found myself feeling unable to connect with the story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for an advance copy to review.

Mario Escobar is a respected scholar whose many works, non-fiction and fiction, deal with the major international crises of the 20th century, especially regarding his homeland, Spain. Although fictional, this book is richly steeped in historical fact. It is set in Spain as the Fascist forces led by Francisco Franco and backed by Germany and Italy clash with the ruling Republicans. While the Civil War engulfs the nation, and the many disparate government factions are pitted against each other as much as the fascist enemies, life in Madrid is fraught with tension and chaos. In many ways, Spain was a test case for the Second World War that followed as the 2nd Spanish Republic collapsed.

Much of what Escobar relates is historically-based, and many of the main characters were real people. The on-going suffering of the Spanish people, at the hands of both armies and their many splinters is also sadly true. Although the war is really the subject, the main character in a very large cast is the bookseller of the title, German-born Barbara Spiel. The daughter of a German Socialist leader, the university-educated Barbara dreams of opening a bookstore of the kind that served as an intellectual meeting place for writers and intellectuals as well as readers, open to ideas of all kinds. But the mid 1930s was a terrible time for those who ran this kind of ‘subversive’ bookstore, especially if they were Jews or socialists, or simply not Hitlerites. When she meets and instantly falls in love with a Spanish visitor, Juan Delgado, a young socialist government official, at Berlin’s most important French bookstore, she quickly decides to join him in Spain. Always impetuous, she is jumping out of the proverbial frying pan into the fire.

With family money and connections, especially her mother’s, she sets up her bookstore in the capital, where, along with the city’s writers and sellers, she strives to keep alive the dream of reading as a life-giving and spiritually enhancing force. Her early days in Spain introduce the history of the Protestant church, which has German roots, in the Catholic-dominated nation. Ironically, though a Protestant who is indifferent to religion, Barbara finds a certain sense of home there, for a while supporting herself by teaching English. Later, as Protestants are persecuted by the vehemently anti-Protestant Franco, as well as the Nazis, it is the church’s people who frequently come to her aid. Despite her very busy life, she soon weds Juan and their son is born not long after.

It’s impossible to summarize all the crises Barbara faces throughout these events, many of them putting her, Juan and their son at true risk, all of them undermining their health, family and work. They are often saved by unlikely allies, usually at the last minute. This makes for a very suspenseful plot, especially since friends quickly turn out to be enemies, and enemies sometimes offer sanctuary and salvation.

Barbara is admirable in her refusal to stop fighting for those she loves and respects, and we see how much she grows under adversity. Juan, at times, is impatient with her, preferring to wait, as politicians do, for the right moment—a particularly risky approach considering the circumstances. I found myself annoyed with his brand of socialism more than once, especially since he is often condescending toward her as a mere woman.

Despite the fascinating glimpses into European book culture, especially in Spain, much of the book is about the complicated politics and ideologies of the time. There are so many characters, German, Spanish, English, French, fascist, socialist, that it is a challenge to keep them straight. The last part of the story, the war years, flash by quickly, but that is not surprising since the focus is the Madrid years.

This is a didactic novel—if you knew little about the Spanish Civil War, you will be learn much. If you already have some knowledge, you will be amazed at how much you didn’t know. Lauren Ezzo is an excellent narrator, but I think this book might be easier to follow in written form.

I enjoyed the Journey this story took us through the reality of the time was well constructed and the narrator was able to bring you into the story.

I listened to this as a Audiobook and I felt like I was right beside Barbara along her Journey. This was a story of resilience and hope along with so many more things to keep the characters going throughout the pages of this book! The Narrator did a fantastic job throughout the book to keep you engaged with the story. At one point I was thinking there was to much explanation of political Rulings for the time period but all in all I think it was necessary to understand and build the background to the trials and tribulations Barbara and her Family faced. The ending was a wonderful relief of Peace

The story follows a young German woman who flees her native country and follows her heart to Spain, a country also on the brink of unrest and war.

The narrator does an excellent job reading the audiobook version, providing many different accents without sounding cliched or over the top & I cannot fault how much historical detail the author has included, in helping the reader understand the political mood of Spain of the 1930's & its residents fears and worries as the country teetered on a knife-edge; but unfortunately I felt the writing style felt a little flat and struggled to like any of the characters within the story. (I am willing to accept that this may be because the story was originally published in Spanish, and some of the prose may not have directly translated well into English)

The first part of the story seems well paced and managed to keep my attention, but last couple of chapters felt rushed and under developed which dropped my rating from 4 stars to 3


Thanks to Netgalley and Harpermuse for providing me with an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.

This book was centered in the 1930's when the Hitler and the Nazi Regime was gaining speed. I usually love this type of book. But this one did not hold my interest very well. 3 stars

Many thanks to Net Galley and HarperMuse for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have not read many Spanish based historical fiction but I found this to be a well told novel based around true history, people and locations.

Madrid, 1934. The winds of change are blowing in the Spain of the Second Republic when Bárbara, a young German woman who has managed to flee Berlin after the victory of the Nazi party in the elections, opens a small bookstore.

This becomes a place to dream of a free and hopeful future, but the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War threatens to destroy everything Barbara has built. It will be her love for letters and for a young Republican that keeps her clinging to a country that faces a spiral of hatred and terror that she knows all too well and that will force her to fight for her life once again.