In the final moments of the Spanish Civil War, as the remnants of the Republican army retreat north to exile, fifty prominent Nationalist prisoners are taken out to be shot. Among them is Rafael Sanchez Mazas - writer, fascist and founder of the Spanish Falange. As the machine-guns begin to fire, Sanchez Mazas, seizes his chance and escapes into the forest. When his hiding place is discovered by a militiaman, he faces death for the second time that day. But the unknown soldier simply looks him in the eye, turns and walks away. Sanchez Mazas becomes a national hero and ultimately a minster in Franco's first government. The soldier disappears into history. As Cercas sifts the evidence to establish what really happened, he realises that the true hero of his story may not be Sanchez Mazas at all, but the soldier who chose not to shoot him. Who was he? Why did he spare him? Might he still be alive?

The Soldiers of Salamis

Literature & Fiction

JAVIER CERCAS

Contemporary

Bloomsbury Publishing

"The Tenant" and "The Motive" are two darkly humorous novels from the award-winning author of "Soldiers of Salamis". "The Tenant" is the mischievous story of Mario Rota, a linguistics professor whose life starts to unravel after he twists his ankle while out jogging one day. A rival professor appears, takes over his classes and bewitches his girlfriend. Where will Rota's nightmare end - and where did it begin "The Motive" is a satire about a writer, Alvaro, who becomes obsessed with finding the ideal inspiration for his novel. First he begins spying on his neighbours, then he starts leading them on, creating a reversal of the maxim that art follows life, with some dire consequences. Written with a supremely light touch, these witty novels are enjoyable masterpieces that linger long in the memory.

The Tenant and The Motive

Literary

Bloomsbury Paperbacks

The Speed of Light

Clearway Logistics Phase 2-3

An aspiring young writer from Spain begins work as a teaching assistant on a Midwestern campus and finds himself sharing an office with Rodney Falk, a taciturn Vietnam veteran of strange ways and few friends. But when Rodney suddenly disappears the narrator becomes obsessed with discovering the secrets of his past. Why do people fear Rodney? What traumatic event happened at My Khe during the war? And, when the narrator's life takes a terrible twist, is Rodney the only person in the world who can save him?

The International Bestseller of the Spanish Civil War - Winner of the Independent Foreign Fiction PrizeIn the final moments of the Spanish Civil War, fifty prominent Nationalist prisoners are executed by firing squad. Among them is the writer and fascist Rafael Sanchez Mazas. As the guns fire, he escapes into the forest, and can hear a search party and their dogs hunting him down. The branches move and he finds himself looking into the eyes of a militiaman, and faces death for the second time that day. But the unknown soldier simply turns and walks away. Sanchez Mazas becomes a national hero and the soldier disappears into history. As Cercas sifts the evidence to establish what happened, he realises that the true hero may not be Sanchez Mazas at all, but the soldier who chose not to shoot him. Who was he Why did he spare him And might he still be alive

Soldiers Of Salamis

MacLehose Press

The Anatomy of a Moment

In February 1981, just as Spain was finally leaving Francos' dictatorship and during the first democratic vote in parliament for a new prime minister - Colonel Tejero and a band of right-wing soldiers burst into the Spanish parliament and began firing shots. Only three members of Congress defied the incursion and did not dive for cover: Adolfo Suarez the then outgoing prime minister, who had steered the country away from the Franco era, Guttierez Mellado, a conservative general who had loyally served democracy, and Santiago Carillo, the head of the Communist Party, which had just been legalised. In "The Anatomy of a Moment", Cercas examines a key moment in Spanish history, just as he did so successfully in his Spanish Civil War novel, "Soldiers of Salamis". This is the only coup ever to have been caught on film as it was happening, which, as Cercas says, 'guaranteed both its reality and its unreality'. Every February a few seconds of the video are shown again and Spaniards congratulate themselves for standing up for democracy, but Cercas says that things were very quiet that afternoon and evening while all over Spain people stayed inside waiting for the coup to be defeated ...or to triumph. 'Cercas writes brilliantly, in simple, direct language and beautifully, uncontrivedly modulated sentences. His prose is a pleasure - easy without dumbing down' - Felipe Fernandez-Armesto.

History

Bloomsbury UK

In February 1981, just as Spain was finally leaving Franco's dictatorship and during the first democratic vote in parliament for a new prime minister - Colonel Tejero and a band of right-wing soldiers burst into the Spanish parliament and began firing shots. Only three members of Congress defied the incursion and did not dive for cover,: Adolfo Suarez the then outgoing prime minister, who had steered the country away from the Franco era, Guttierez Mellado, a conservative general who had loyally served democracy, and Santiago Carillo, the head of the Communist Party, which had just been legalised. In The Anatomy of a Moment, Cercas examines a key moment in Spanish history, just as he did so successfully in his Spanish Civil War novel, Soldiers of Salamis. This is the only coup ever to have been caught on film as it was happening, which, as Cercas says, 'guaranteed both its reality and its unreality'. Every February a few seconds of the video are shown again and Spaniards congratulate themselves for standing up for democracy, but Cercas says that things were very quiet that afternoon and evening while all over Spain people stayed inside waiting for the coup to be defeated ...or to triumph.

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

The first book in the acclaimed Barcelona detective Melchor Marín is sent to the countryside to investigate a horrific double murder. Before long, it becomes clear that nothing about the case is quite as it seems.Melchor, the son of a prostitute, went to prison as a teenager, convicted of working for a Colombian drug cartel. Behind bars, he read a book that changed his Les Misérables. Then his mother was murdered. He decided to become a cop. This new case, in Terra Alta, a remote region of rural Catalonia—the murder of a wealthy local man and his wife—will turn Melchor’s life upside down yet again. Even the Darkest Night is a thought-provoking, elegantly constructed thriller about justice, revenge, and, above all, the struggles of a righteous man trying to find his place in a corrupt world.

Even the Darkest Night: A Terra Alta Investigation

"A gem of a book, easily the best I've read this year. A contemporary police procedural with a literary edge. I was rooting for the flawed, but deeply compassionate Melchor Marin from the first page to the last. Highly recommended" M W Craven Two dead at the Adell house . . . But nothing in the duty officer's report can prepare Melchor Marin for what he finds. A wealthy couple tortured to death in an almost ritualistic manner. The little town of Gandesa in the backwater region of Terra Alta, Catalonia, is suddenly at the eye of a media storm. Melchor is no stranger to notoriety. He was sent to Terra Alta to lie low after foiling a terrorist attack. And, before that, he was jailed for his role as driver for a Colombian drug cartel, his decision to join the police inspired by a desire to avenge his mother's murder and a copy of Les Miserables from the prison library. Gradually, the leads in the Adell case dry up, and Melchor is ordered to back off. He doesn't, willing to sacrifice his reputation and career in a ruthless pursuit of the truth. But dusk is already falling on the darkest night of his life. Translated from the Spanish by Anne McLean

Genre Fiction

Prey for the Shadow: A Terra Alta Investigation

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by JAVIER CERCAS. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by JAVIER CERCAS

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by JAVIER CERCAS. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Soldiers of Salamis

The Tenant and The Motive

The Speed of Light

The Speed of Light

Soldiers Of Salamis

The Anatomy of a Moment

The Anatomy of a Moment

Even the Darkest Night: A Terra Alta Investigation

Even the Darkest Night: A Terra Alta Investigation

Prey for the Shadow: A Terra Alta Investigation