Crystal Spirit
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Overview
Personal and political freedom in 1930s Wales is the subject of this moving novel. The central character seeks to escape work as a miner during the Great Depression, and through his involvement in the Labour Movement, he finds himself in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. Through battle and subsequent imprisonment, he finds the maturity to eventually return to his poverty-stricken Welsh valley and contribute to its regeneration. This gripping and affecting narrative is persuasive and authentic in its portrayal of the Depression and full of remarkable scenes from the Spanish Civil War. It is a moving testament to those who suffered in Wales and Spain yet remained undefeated by the horrors of poverty and a brutal war.
About the Author:
Roger Granelli is the author of Out of Nowhere, Dark Edge, and Status Zero.
Synopsis
Personal and political freedom in 1930s Wales is the subject of this moving novel. The central character seeks to escape work as a miner during the Great Depression, and through his involvement in the Labour Movement, he finds himself in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. Through battle and subsequent imprisonment, he finds the maturity to eventually return to his poverty-stricken Welsh valley and contribute to its regeneration. This gripping and affecting narrative is persuasive and authentic in its portrayal of the Depression and full of remarkable scenes from the Spanish Civil War. It is a moving testament to those who suffered in Wales and Spain yet remained undefeated by the horrors of poverty and a brutal war.
About the Author:
Roger Granelli is the author of Out of Nowhere, Dark Edge, and Status Zero.
Publishers Weekly
Spanning four decades, this solid but familiar first novel focuses on the immature, self-centered son of a Welsh coal miner who comes of age during the Spanish Civil War. Frustrated by his prospects--either following in his father's footsteps or becoming a shopkeeper--David Hicks longs to escape the Welsh valley, whose inhabitants ``do not see farther than their own skyline.'' But an affair with beautiful Emma Vincent leads to her pregnancy and a forced marriage, and a resentful David settles into provincial life. Becoming fascinated with the Spanish Popular Front and the civil war it is waging against Fascist rebels, David joins the International Brigade, deserts Emma and goes off to fight for Republican Spain. Eventually he becomes a noncombatant, a stretcher bearer, but is captured and imprisoned. Told in flashbacks framed by a visit to Spain by Emma and David after Franco's death, the story centers not so much on battle scenes as on David's emotional and psychological journey. Although Granelli, a native of Wales, breaks no new ground, he offers a skillful portrait of a man caught up in forces larger than himself. (Jan.)