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Description: This is not a fictional tale nor a history book, nor does it have-strictly speaking-a main character, as there were countless men and women involved in the events that took place in Madrid in 1808. Heroes and cowards, victims and executioners, history kept the names of most of them. The people, places, and events recounted here are real, as are much of the words that are spoken. In this book, Arturo Perez-Reverte transforms the obscure and individual stories recorded in books and archives into a collective account. The author's imagination is therefore reduced to the mortar that joins the narratives. By making use of the most basic liberties that a novel allows, these pages bring to life the individuals who, for over two hundred years, have either remained anonymous or lived only in brief accounts of official papers. Description in Spanish: Este relato no es ficcion ni libro de Historia. Tampoco tiene un protagonista concreto, pues fueron innumerables los hombres y mujeres envueltos en los sucesos del 2 de mayo de 1808 en Madrid. Heroes y cobardes, victimas y verdugos, la Historia retuvo los nombres de buena parte de ellos: las relaciones de muertos y heridos, los informes militares, las memorias escritas por actores principales o secundarios de la tragedia, aportan datos rigurosos para el historiador y ponen limites a la imaginacion del novelista. Cuantas personas y lugares aparecen aqui son autenticos, asi como los sucesos narrados y muchas de las palabras que se pronuncian. En Un dia de colera, Arturo Perez-Reverte convierte en historia colectiva las pequenas y oscuras historias particulares registradas en archivos y libros. Lo imaginado, por tanto, se reduce a la argamasa narrativa que une las piezas. Con las licencias minimas que la palabra novela justifica, estas paginas pretenden devolver la vida a quienes durante doscientos anos solo han sido personajes anonimos en grabados y lienzos contemporaneos, o escueta relacion de nombres en los documentos oficiales.
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Review Summary: Un Dia de Colera |
Date: 2008-11-23 |
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Details: The author did two things: a homage to the unknown heroes of the civil uprising in Madrid on May 2, 1808 and the description of the events. It is a kind of "24 hours" (TV programme) in writing.
It keeps you tied to the narrative wanting to know the expected results, for the uprising is a well known historical fact.
If you read the book in its original language, Spanish, you will enjoy the elegant and perfect usage of the language as it was used in those days. It is not "Chaucer' like, but the description of mores, uniforms, streets are accurate, as far as I can tell.
Great book. I know the translation to English will be done well. All the other translations of the previous novels were well done.
Thanks for the opportunity to describe a great book |
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out of 1 Reviews
