Family Affairs and other matters

I got a text from a friend today saying “bit extreme being holed up in an arab state just to get out of book group don’t you think?”….

The REALLY annoying thing about missing book group this time round is that I’ve actually managed to finish the book for the first time in ages. It’s reassuring to know that I can actually complete the task, even if in order to do so I need to find myself unexpectedly stranded in a foreign country with no distractions whatsoever.

Anyway, the book I’ve just finished is called “Guernica”, set in the Basque town of Guernica (unsurprisingly) during the Second World War.

It is Dave Boling’s first novel. I thought it was very well written and he has managed to bring to life a part of history that has gone largely unrecognised and achieved what he set out to do which was to “elevate awareness of this tragedy”. He cleverly intertwines fact with fiction and brings a number of wonderful characters to life. The author successfully highlights the horror this little town experienced during the 1937 bombing by the Luftwaffe through the eyes of key characters. The pain they have to bear is almost unbearable. The novel is about love and loss, healing and endurance.

The latter part of the book weaves a complicated thread that I felt didn’t really work. It seemed too incongruous. But still, I think if you’re interested in the subject matter and want to learn more about what happened and understand more about the story behind Picasso’s famed mural then you should read it.