Gurenica
by Dave Boling
We all enjoyed this book – some going so far as to say it was “absolutely wonderful”.
There was some discussion around the fact that it was a first novel with some of us of the view that there was room for improvement in the style of writing.
Others thought that the passion and sense of purpose of the first novel more than compensated for any lack of maturity in the style.
The opening chapters presented an effective picture of life in this traditional Basque community and introduced us to the characters and families at the heart of the story although some of us found this a little slow to get into.
We were all, to various degrees, familiar with the tragic story of Guernica and with Picasso’s iconic masterpiece so the horrendous bombardment at the core of the novel comes as no surprise.
Nonetheless it is not overdrawn and although events of the latter part of the novel become somewhat predictable we were pleased to be presented with a comparatively happy ending.
NS July 2009
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