The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys is set in Madrid, Spain in 1957 during the oppressive dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. Spain has begun welcoming tourists to a new Hilton Hotel, but the Spanish are sworn to secrecy as to the living conditions of the local people. Daniel, an 18 year old Texan, is visiting Madrid while his father brokers an oil deal. With a Spanish mother, Daniel is able to communicate with the locals in their own language and discover many secrets while taking pictures in his effort to win a journalism college scholarship. When he meets Ana, a beautiful employee at the Hilton Hotel, he delves deeper into the underbelly of Madrid, putting her family in danger - her parents had been republicans and killed for their fight against oppression.
My thoughts (spoiler alert):
The Fountains of Silence was a dramatic story with the juxtaposition of life in Spain and that of those living in America. What I found most distressing in the book was the calculating and dishonest nuns and priests who saw newborn babies as ways to make money, stealing them (for costly adoption) from new mothers and presenting the young mothers with dead babies.
I visited Spain as a teenager during the Franco years in the 1960s and heard many talking about his barbaric regime, but it didn't make much sense to me at the time. Tourism only showed the amazing beaches and beautiful architecture and visiting from rainy England, the sunny climate seemed perfect to me.
The Fountains of Silence will be added to my favorite books for the year.
