Skip to main content

Ruta Sepetys: The Fountains of Silence

I love historical fiction, so when my book club (of English teachers) picked this one, I was really excited to read it.

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys is about a boy named Daniel Matheson who travels to Spain in the 1950s. The leader of Spain, Franco, is ruthless and has an iron hold on his people. Daniel's father is an oil tycoon who wants his son to take over the business, while his mother is from Spain. Daniel doesn't want to join his father's business. He wants to become a photographer. His goal while in Spain is to take pictures worthy enough of a contest that he's working on. While there, Daniel meets Ana, a maid at the Hilton Hotel he's staying at. Ana is assigned to Daniel's family and attends to their every need. Ana's family is poor and this is an incredible job opportunity for her. Ana's family needs this job. Ana and Daniel become friends and start to fall in love with each other, something Ana seems hesitant about and Daniel knows his parents won't like. Will this forbidden love go anywhere? Will Daniel find out the dark secrets of Franco's Spain?

Some things I really enjoyed about this book:

  • I enjoyed that it rotated through perspectives. That's something that I really enjoy in a lot of novels that I've read, and this one was no different. I loved that it rotated through the various members of Ana's family as well as Ana and Daniel. It was good to see the story from each perspective.
  • I loved the historical insight into Spain post-WWII. I love history, but my knowledge of world history is a little lacking. This was a really fascinating read for me because I had no idea of the problems and the oppression in Spain. My mom and grandparents lived in Spain in the late 1960s, so it was interesting to talk about how they saw it.
    • Sepetys also included some secondary source documents in this: speeches, and interviews with officials who helped determine American policy toward Franco in the 1950s. These little interludes were interesting and helped give some perspective into the events of the story.
  • I loved the descriptions and the characters. I loved that Daniel stood up for what he wanted and didn't cave in to what his dad wanted.
Some things I didn't love about this book:
  • I hated the ending. I felt that Sepetys tried to rush to a conclusion and only haphazardly answered questions.
    • In particular, I felt that the story with Daniel's adopted sister is also Ana's niece wasn't tied up well and didn't actually conclude.
    • Ana also pulled this really interesting 180 shift. I didn't hate it, but this was an issue in my book club. I felt that I had to do some analytical gymnastics to fully connect Ana's old self with her new self. She ignores the status problems at the end that she was hyper-aware of at the beginning.
  • I got really tired of everyone having a secret. I felt the middle of the book dragged with a lot of set-up of problems that would semi-resolve later, but not enough new information to keep me interested in the novel.
Overall, I rate this book:
  • ⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5 based on the reasons above.
  • I rate this book PG-13 for violence and some sexual innuendo. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Markus Zusak: The Book Thief

 This is a book that I read for the first time around four years ago when I first started teaching. This novel is one that I have loved ever since then. The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak takes place in World War II in Nazi Germany. Liesel Meminger is not quite an orphan, but she is placed in foster care because her mother can't provide for her. Liesel goes to live with Rosa and Hans Hubermann, and they completely change Liesel's life. On her way to the Hubermann's, Liesel's younger brother dies on the train. In the graveyard where he was buried is where Liesel steals her first book: The Grave Digger's Handbook. Hans teaches her to read it, and inspires her love of the written word. The Hubermann's will then hide a Jew in their basement for a time. What will become of that hidden Jew? What will become of Liesel? What will become of Himmel Street, her friends, and her family in the wake of a violent and terrible war? This book is probably one of my all-time favorite...
Post a Comment
Read more

Brene Brown: Daring Greatly

Brene Brown is one of my favorite TED speakers of all time. I have listened to her TED talks numerous times and used them in my classroom each year. I love her message: that we can't have success, innovation, change, and creativity without first having vulnerability. I love that she is seeking to demystify vulnerability and teach what shame is and how it destroys our ability to accept ourselves and others. I am not normally into the self-help kind of books, but of the books I've read this year, this is one of my favorites! Daring Greatly  by Brene Brown discusses the concepts of shame and vulnerability and how we need vulnerability, but not shame. She gives strategies for combating shame and becoming "shame resilient." She gives strategies to use as parents, teachers, friends, and spouses. For one thing, I love Dr. Brown's Texan accent (she narrates the audiobook herself! 💗). Her voice and personality are all throughout this book. She is not afraid to use persona...
Post a Comment
Read more

Elizabeth Wein: Rose Under Fire - Code Name Verity Book 4

 I love Elizabeth Wein and Code Name Verity (see my post here ). Since reading Verity , I discovered that there are more books in the series, and while not completely related (you can read them in any order), I've been excited to read them all. Rose Under Fire has been on my tbr list for AGES, and I finally got around to it. Rose Under Fire  by Elizabeth Wein shines a light on the darkness of Ravensbruck, the Nazi prison camp for political prisoners (at least at first). Rose Justice was an American who went to Britain to help with the war effort. While there, she met Maddie (one of the perspectives of Code Name Verity ), a pilot for the civilian ATA. After a ferry trip over France, Rose is intercepted by Nazi fighters and is forced to fly deep into Germany. Once there, she's sent to Ravensbruck, the infamous work camp for political prisoners. Wein spares no details in showing the horrific conditions of prisoners in the camp. What will happen to Rose and her friends, the Rabbit...
Post a Comment
Read more