Book Talk
with Smiffs book & card store, Nerja
In 1937, the
courageous and
independent
American
journalist Martha
Gellhorn travelled
to Madrid to
report on atrocities
of the Spanish
Civil War. She
found herself
drawn to the
stories of ordinary
people caught in a
devastating
conflict.
desperately needs. Distraught,
she flees to the enchanting
Villa Naranja in Spain. The
blue skies and bountiful
orange groves, along with
Pep, the winemaker’s
handsome son, begin to
soothe her broken heart, but
only Juno herself can mend
it. Just when she begins to
feel whole again, another
bombshell falls. Can she put
the past behind her? Available
from late June or early July.
The Killing Rock (p), by
Robert Daws, is a crime
thriller set in Gibraltar and
the Costa del Sol. Mummified
remains of a woman’s body have been discovered at a
demolition site on the eastern side of the Rock. A family are
massacred in the grounds of a millionaire’s mansion near
Puerto Banus. The Royal Gibraltar Police Force and their
Spanish counterparts in Marbella begin separate investigations.
In Love & Ruin (l),
the latter-day US
writer Paula
McLain’s novel
based on a true
love story,
Gellhorn finds
herself unexpectedly and uncontrollably falling in love with
Ernest Hemingway, a man already on his way to becoming a
legend.
Fans of historical novels with
a military angle might well
seek out The Iberian Flame
(l), by Julian Stockwin. With
the Iberian Peninsula in
turmoil, Napoleon Bonaparte
signs a treaty to dismember
Portugal and put his brother
Joseph on the throne of
Spain. Meanwhile, Nicholas
Renzi, the British Lord
Farndon, undertakes a deadly
mission to stir up partisan
unrest to disrupt this
Napoleonic alliance with
Spain. Thrust into the
crucible of the uprising,
Captain Sir Thomas Kydd is
dismayed to come up against
an old foe from his past, now his superior and commander,
who is determined to break him. Bonaparte, incensed by the
reverses suffered to his honour, gathers together a crushing
force and marches at speed
into Spain.
In the shadow of the impending Second World War, and set
against the tumultuous backdrops of Madrid, Finland, China,
and especially Cuba, where Martha and Hemingway made
their home, their relationship and professional careers ignite.
However, when Hemingway publishes the biggest literary
success of his career, they are no longer equals, and Martha
must make a choice. Does she surrender to the suffocating
demands of a domestic lifestyle, or risk losing her husband by
forging her way as her own woman and writer. It is a dilemma
that will force her to break his heart, and her own.
Hemingway’s For Whom The Bells Toll was dedicated to
Gellhorn, one of the greatest of war correspondents.
Love & Ruin leads off this month’s Soltalk Hotlist of titles,
some entirely new, others moving into small paperback format
for the first time or being reissued, sometimes after years out
of print. All are due for
publication on dates in
June, with availability in
print this month or in early
July. The Hotlist helps
readers to plan and budget
for book ordering.
Spanish food is all about
making the most of the best
local produce. Geography
and climate has had a great
influence on its cooking
methods and available
ingredients, and these
particularities are present in
the dishes of various regions.
Spanish cuisine was also
shaped by a complex history,
where invasions and
conquests have modified
traditions and made new
The Hideaway (l) is the
latest novel from bestselling
Irish author Sheila
O’Flanagan. What would
you do if you discovered
you were living a lie? When
a shocking news report
shatters Juno Ryan’s world,
she suddenly finds herself
without the man she loves,
and with no way of getting
the answers she so
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