Review: The Fountains of Silence

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
My rating: 4.25 of 5 stars

Fountains of Silence is a novel set in Spain during the Franco era, about twenty years after the Spanish Civil War. The Republicans who had opposed Franco's Nationalists lived in constant fear of retribution after he seized power. People disappeared, lost their jobs, and in some cases had their children taken away to be raised by loyalists without the "red gene." Young people living in Spain in the 1950's often struggled in poverty after their parents had been executed for opposing Franco and the Catholic church. (Yes, really. In the 20th Century.) Ana is a young woman living with her sister Julia and extended family. She works in a swanky Madrid hotel that hosts plenty of wealthy Americans who cannot even begin to envision the grinding poverty much of the hotel staff lives in. One of those guests is Daniel, a young man who wants to become a photographer, rather than follow his father in the oil business. Drawn to Ana like a moth to flame, Daniel begins to be drawn into the world of Madrileños struggling to survive in the middle of Franco's thirty-five year reign. The hotel staff must always be congenial, well-groomed, and never talk about anything in their actual life. As he photodocuments everything from Franco himself to humble gravediggers, Daniel sees a different side to the lives of the young people who live as fountains of silence under a totalitarian regime.

Fountains of Silence evolves slowly and at times the pace seems a little too slow. I also thought some of the plot points, like Daniel's friend Nick suggesting that he make an unannounced visit to Ana's home in Vallecas, to be somewhat improbable. That said, the central premise of the story- child trafficking against the backdrop of an authoritarian regime with religious aspects is such an important story to tell. My husband was born in Madrid in the 1950's and thus grew up in Franco's Spain. The isolated and constrained lives that people lived in that era are all too real for his parents' generation. The central premise of this novel, that of church-related child trafficking, is something that some in his family choose not to believe. There is much evidence to counter their beliefs, though. You can read more here or here. You can learn still more from ANADIR, the Spain-based National Association of Victims of Illegal Adoptions.

A cogent book that shows how absolute power corrupts absolutely and how average citizens can pay very personal costs for that corruption.

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