soldiers_of_salamis_cercas
2005 Longlist

Soldiers of Salamis

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ABOUT
THE BOOK

In the final moments of the Spanish Civil War, as the remnants of the Republican army retreat north o exile, fifty prominent Nationalist prisoners are taken out to be shot. Among them is Rafael Sánchez Mazas – writer, fascist and founder of the Spanish Falange.
As the machine-guns begin to fire, Sánchez Mazas seizes his chance and escapes into the forest. When a militiaman discovers his hiding place, he faces death for the second time that day. But the unknown soldier simply looks him in the eye, turns and walks away. Sánchez Mazas becomes a national hero and ultimately a minister 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 Sánchez 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?

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Javier
Cercas

Javier Cercas is a lecturer in Spanish Literature at the University of Girona. He is the author of Outlaws, The Tenant and The Motive, The Anatomy of a Moment, Soldiers of Salamis and The Speed of Light.

Photo Credit: LM. Palomares

Javier Cercas is a lecturer in Spanish Literature at the University of Girona. He is the author of Outlaws, The Tenant and The Motive, The Anatomy of a Moment, Soldiers of Salamis and The Speed of Light.

Photo Credit: LM. Palomares

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Date published
25/11/2024
Country
Spain
Original Language
Spanish
Author
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing

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