Early Review – The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: 512 pages
Publisher: Philomel Books
Release Date: October 1, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-0399160318
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC through Amazon Vine
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists and foreign businessmen flood into the country under the welcoming guise of sunshine and wine. Among them is eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson, the son of a Texas 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 decisions to protect those he loves. Lives and hearts collide, revealing an incredibly dark side to the sunny Spanish city.”

I have been wanting to read a novel by Sepetys for quite awhile, so when this popped up for review I was eager to read it. The reviews I saw for this book were pretty mediocre, so I went into this expecting to be pretty disappointed in this book. However, I ended up finding the story very engaging and tore through this long book in only a couple days.

The story is set in Madrid when Spain was under Franco’s rule (1957ish). It mainly follows Ana and Daniel, although others chime in as well. Ana works at the first Hilton in Spain which is a hotel catering to Americans. Daniel is the son of an American oil tycoon and he wants to be a photographer and tell the story of the people suffering in Spain. Aside from hearing about Daniel and Ana there is a mystery involving missing babies. Additionally, woven into this main story are the stories of Ana’s brother, sister, and cousin as well.

I really liked the format of the book. The book switches POV a lot and the chapters are very short. Normally this would annoy me but it worked really, really well for this book and propelled the story forward.

While there is a mystery to be solved in this story, I felt like this was more of one of those “day in the life of” types of stories. Finding out what was going to happen to all of our characters really kept me engaged. I also really liked and enjoyed reading about all the characters.

I wasn’t really aware of what was going on in Spain in the 1950’s so I enjoyed learning about that. I would say that this book felt a bit more like a soap opera (where you follow people’s stories and drama) than a real deep dive into the history. Being that this is the first Sepetys book I have read I can’t compare to her other novels.

My only complaint is that I felt like that story ended very abruptly. There IS an epilogue at the end to tie things together. However, after being so involved with these characters and their lives I thought that things just suddenly…well…stopped.

Overall I really enjoyed this and would recommend to those who like reading a blend of history, romance, and “day in the life of” sort of books. I thought this was going to be a much heavier read than it was. It ended up being very engaging and I breezed right through it.