I read this book on my first trip to Madrid. Very absorbing and evocative of the time and the place. Highly recommended. ( )

C.J. riesce a creare un legame tra il lettore ed i suoi personaggi, sebbene il racconto risenta di alti e bassi.

Sandy annui'. "Come ho detto al caffe', il futuro appartiene a chi e' capace di afferrare la vita. Non dovremmo mai permettere al passato di tenerci fermi. E il destino non esiste."
(215)

Harry: "Perche', in pratica, non puoi cambiare nulla", rispose stancamente. "Sono tutti troppo forti, alla fine ti schiacciano."
Barbara: "Non ci credo. devi batterti."
Harry: "Io ho perso."
(613)


Ultima nota (polemica): la Sperling & Kupfer dovrebbe cercarsi un correttore di bozze con la seguente esperienza: correttore di bozze! ( )

Año 1940. Europa está en manos de los nazis. En plena postguerra, Madrid pasa hambre y se ha convertido en un hervidero de espías de todas las potencias mundiales. Harry Brett, un antiguo soldado inglés que conoció la Guerra Civil y trabaja para el servicio secreto británico, debe ganarse la confianza de un antiguo condiscípulo, Sandy Frosyth, para averiguar a qué negocios turbios se dedica en la España de Franco. Harry se verá envuelto en un juego muy peligroso. Mientras tanto, Barbara Clare, la novia de Sandy, antigua enfermera de la Cruz Roja, también tiene una misión secreta: encontrar a su antiguo amante, Bernie Piper, un voluntario comunista de las Brigadas Internacionales que desapareció tras la batalla del Jarama.

45

I really enjoyed reading this book for the most part, set in Franco’s Spain (mostly Madrid) just after his fascist forces prevailed in the Civil War. But the ending goes so wrong in so many different ways, it spoiled what had been a gripping story filled with interesting, sympathetic characters in a compelling setting. Worth reading for the historical details about Spain during and just after the Civil War; but be prepared for the story to go spectacularly off the rails and the characters to behave in implausible and unrealistic ways in the end. ( )

I am having a very hard time reading lately. There is the pressure of time, but even more there is the feeling that I cannot at this moment handle anything too emotionally draining. So I chose to read this book – an historical mystery type of book – to get me over the rump. Like other reviewers, I found the book too long, a bit predictable and a tad unbelievable. But 3 stars I gave it!

First of all, it did help me – at least I know that a book can keep my attention, and I might just try another one. But, even if the plot is contrived, the historical research appears to be accurate, and it did leave me with the feelings that I now understand the political machinations of the time period better. Great way to learn history – in a “All I know I learned in Romance Novels” kind of way.
( )

Very personal for me as my dad was an international brigader. I've always understood why he did not want to share his experiences with his family. After reading this I feel I understand that even more. It is fiction but really makes you feel engaged with the people, place and times. A very good book. I think I would have loved reading it almost as much without the personal interest, and a good window on how deeply different Spain is from Britain, and how much suffering there has been for so many. A great addition to my Madrid theme - thanks susanne for recommending it. ( )

Winter in Madrid is set during a tumultuous period of Spanish history during the early years of Franco's reign post-civil war. This uncertain time for the people of Spain, with question's about potential Spanish involvement in the war in Europe, as well as economic woes and political upheaval make it a fascinating backdrop for what is actually quite a British novel.

The story circles around four British individuals who are known to each other through their past (three of whom knew each other at public school)and find themselves situated away from Britain's own war for three very different reasons.

These connections and differences make for a gripping saga throughout which the attitudes and beliefs of all the protagonists change throughout the novel, perhaps echoing an overwhelming period of soul-searching for many Europeans at the time during which the story is set.

Sansom describes a bleak picture of Spain, and the novel is terrifically atmospheric throughout. The characters are all well-rounded (not always an easy thing to pull off when discussing the British middle-classes of the 1940s).

I didn't know a massive amount about the Spanish Civil War before reading the book, but it has definitely given me a desire to learn more about it.

There are a few areas of the novel that could maybe move a little quicker (the build-up to the final set-piece seems to take a while) but generally, the narrative flows well and I had to get to the end to see the conclusion and what happened to the individuals whose lives all fascinated me whilst reading this book.

A must for all fans of historical thrillers. ( )

Harry Brett had been at Dunkirk, but was narrowly missed by a shell that killed the next soldier along. He has been discharged as an invalid and is approached by SIS. They are asking him to spy on someone he knew from his former school, Sandy Forsythe, who has financial interests in Spain and the British government want to know how closely linked he is to the Franco regime. He is dispatched to Madrid with his cover as a translator, and starts to make contact.
Forsythe’s wife is a lady called Barbara, someone who Brett had met before as well. She is there to try and locate her first love, a man called Bernie, who was fighting with the communists against Franco, but had been declared missing presumed dead. Brett starts to see the couple more and more, with the hope of discovering more about the scheme that he is involved with. Barbara is informed that Bernie is alive and that one of the guards would be happy to help him escape, but he requires a large payment. Brett is being tailed by the Spanish authorities, but ends up helping the guy who was trailing him after he is attached by dogs. He takes him home, and starts to fall for the guys sister.
Forsythe starts to trust Brett, and shows him the potential mine, but Brett may have just lost that trust. The diplomats at the embassy are furious, and Brett realizes he is a pawn in a larger game between them.
Sansom has written a story set that combines love, hate, betrayal, tragedy and friendship. It does take a while to get going, by around page 150 I was wondering if I should continue or not. I was glad that I did, and the complex tale that he has written is well worth it in the end. Some of the twists are really good, though possible one too many in my opinion. I have given four stars, but it is realistically a 3.5 star book. ( )

Read this some years ago. Bought it to re-read,

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

This was actually the first ebook I started when I first got my Kobo Glo. However, I didn't finish it until recently. Truth be told, I'd never made it past the 70 pages mark since I found the story slow and the Dutch translation, for lack of a better way to describe it, weird.

Set between the Spanish civil war and the second World War, the story had a great potential. A reluctant spy sent to Spain on a secret mission. It felt like the book was well researched although I'm not really a person who could say anything about that, since I don't know much about it myself.

The start was really slow, it took a lot of time for me to get at least a little bit invested in the story. There were many different characters that I couldn't really keep track of (especially after a break of more than a year). In the end, it was quite a fast read, but the story wasn't sensational and little surprising.

I think I'd expected something more like Zafon's novels, which I really liked, but this novel lacked the beautiful writing style (although it also speaks about Spain with much love). I'm not sure what portion of the clunky writing is due to the translation, but it felt unnatural at the best of times and downright weird at others. I've got another book by Samsom but luckily it's in English. I hope that will be a better reading experience... ( )

Complex historical plot set mainly in the early stages of WW2 when the UK was trying to persuade Spain to remain neutral and the country was still deeply divided following the civil war. Harry Brett is posted to Madrid as a translator with an undercover role to spy on a former fellow public school pupil. Fascinating glimpse into the terrible life ordinary Spaniards were living after the civil war and the deep divsions within society, including within the Franco regime. ( )

Set in Spain in 1940. Franco is in power, England is worried that he may join Hitler, lots of intrigue because no one is honest with anyone. Harry Brett has been asked to spy on former classmate, Sandy Forsythe, in Spain because he's doing business with the "other side." (A bit confusing, the Republicans, the Falangists, the Monarchists, the Nationalists, the Communists. Who are the "good guys"? No one.) Bernie Piper, another classmate, had gone to Spain to fight for the Communists, was listed as missing believed killed. Harry had been to Spain twice before: once with Bernie before the Civil War and once to help girlfriend, Charlotte, look for him. Bernie is in a prison camp, Harry falls in love with Sofia, Charlotte plans Bernie's escape. No one leaves Spain that winter unscathed. ( )

This was my first non-Shardlake book of C.J. Sansom. I had put off reading it, afraid it wouldn't live up to the Shardlake series, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I shouldn't have been afraid!

I always wanted to learn more about the Spanish Civil War. The Shadow on the Wind is the only other book I've read that kind of dealt with it - and that book didn't go into it in any detail. This book will give you a pretty good crash course - with glimpses of Spain before the Civil War, during and especially the year immediately following Franco's final victory.

I will say Sansom knows how to draw out the suspense! The further I got into the book, the faster I wanted to read. And while I did predict one or two plot points, I can't say he is predictable. He does throw a some extra twists to keep you on your toes.

There are a couple of things that kind of irked me, though my quibbles are minor compared to what Sansom delivered. The book is divided into 3 parts. In the first part, there is a lot of back-and-forth between the present and future, as you get to know the characters and their history and background. It was a little disconcerting - there really isn't anything to alert you whether this new section is in the past or present. Sometimes I'd have to re-read the first few sentences of the paragraph after I figured out the setting.

It also would have been nice to have a map of Spain in the front of the book. I don't know without looking it up where Madrid is situated in comparison to Seville, Barcelona or anything else in Spain.

After this I'm definitely checking out his latest work, Dominion, even though I've never been tempted to read a work of alternative-history! ( )

Normally I find historical thrillers interesting but for some reason this book just did not catch my Interest. It seemed quite dry and more like i was reading a history book then historical novel. I have tried and tried to read this book through to the end but i just cant seem to accomplish it. I would recommend this book to anyone suffering from insomnia because it can easily put you to sleep. ( )

I thought this was well written. I was especially impressed that there was just the right amount of period detail. I didn't know much about the Spanish Civil War, but the author provided enough information for me to follow the story and yet not feel like I was reading a history book.

I found the book suspenseful. There was one plot development late in the book that I guessed fairly early on, but rather than detract from my reading experience, it made me more anxious to see how everything would turn out.

I thought Harry, with his shell-shock and conflicted loyalties, was a sympathetic character.

By way of criticism: I didn't believe Barbara would ever have gotten involved with Sandy. And while Sandy is established as a vengeful person, endangering his life to get revenge struck me as over the top.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It certainly succeeded in transporting me to another time and place. ( )

I enjoyed this spy thriller set in Madrid after the Spanish Civil War, much more than I thought I would, given that I know next to nothing about the period. The book contains a lot of political material and has a great sense of history unfolding, and I certainly learned a lot. My only negative point would be that, while the characters were interesting and well developed, I didn't really care about most of them. A compelling read, well researched and deftly written; as always, this author has a knack of taking you to the time and place of the story. It's like stepping into an old black and white movie. ( )

Fine story, rather realistic, all but happy-go-lucky chance meetings in Franco controlled Madrid during World War II. ( )

I didn't enjoy this novel as much as either the author's Shardlake series, or his alternate historical fiction novel, Dominion. The descriptions of oppression and poverty in Franco's Spain are vividly drawn, and one gets a very clear picture of a society riven by stark political and religious divides and chilling refusals to compromise. However, I found the jumping around of the action in the first half of the novel between 1940, 1931 and 1936 quite confusing, and throughout much of the book, the narrative drive was lacking, only the attempt to free Bernie from the labour camp coming across as exciting and dramatic. The Spanish characters were well drawn, while most of the British ones seemed a bit cliched. Ultimately, I found this a somewhat unsatisfying read, but one that could probably have been made tighter and more dramatic without a huge amount of change. ( )

The Spanish Civil War has always intrigued me. Not just because I am vague about the details, but it was one of the conflicts where people came from all over the world to join in the fight. Not nations, but individual people. And some very famous personalities, like George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway, who had other lives and other occupations, but felt strongly enough about democracy for Spain that they joined in with the fight.

So did Winter in Madrid answer my questions? Yes and no. I learned that the war was not a straightforward conflict. There weren’t obvious good guys and bad guys. Both sides committed atrocities and as with all conflicts, families were destroyed. This book definitely conveyed the tragedies inflicted by this war and gave a sense of what Madrid was like during that period. My only complaint about this book was the pacing. Some parts seemed to drag and the end was almost too frantic. Still, I have loved Sansom’s books set in Tudor England and look forward to more ( )

Excellent book portraying Madrid after the Civil War in the early days of Franco's dictatorship. Harry is asked to work in the British Embassy as a translator, but in reality he's there to spy on his old schoolfriend Sandy who is working closely with the Franco regime.

The story uncovers their schoolboy past and friendships that leads to a dramatic climax in the mountains around Madrid.

( )

This story is set in Spain during the second world war. Life is harsh. The sense of place and time is very well captured. The plot entwines historical fiction, espionage and romance and mostly does this very well. I kept wanting the hero to be more heroic and the climax could have played out in a number of different ways. There was something a bit frustrating about the last few scenes in Madrid but I think the author was deliberately avoiding the sentimental wrap-up which is probably a wise choice. The last page or so was a surprise to me though in hindsight it should have been predictable. I would love to know what happened next. ( )

A very engaging and engrossing read with spies and politics and love affairs and con games. After a somewhat slow begining (by me), I tore into it and read it in a few days. Definetely in the Thumping Good Read catagory but not just adventure. Thoughtful characters and well put together. The epilouge lost it for me but that was a minor complaint.

Very personal for me as my dad was an international brigader. I've always understood why he did not want to share his experiences with his family. After reading this I feel I understand that even more. It is fiction but really makes you feel engaged with the people, place and times. A very good book. I think I would have loved reading it almost as much without the personal interest, and a good window on how deeply different Spain is from Britain, and how much suffering there has been for so many. A great addition to my Madrid theme - thanks susanne for recommending it. ( )

The kind of book that makes you want to shout at the author at he end, "No! You've got it wrong. That's not what happened. What happened was..."

So my ending is: Barbara shoots Sandy to protect Bernie. Luckily no one hears this... Sofia is shot, but the rest of them get away. Harry doesn't try to strangle Hoare; instead Harry, Barbara and Bernie are sent home and Hoare raises a stink about the camps with Franco. Harry back in Britain, campaigns about the camps and Bernie and Barbara live happily ever after. Paco and Sofia's brother still go to the south of Spain.

It was very Robert Goddard in style and tone. An interesting story. ( )