The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys.

4/5 rating. 474 pages.

Book #1 of 2021. Read January 9, 2021.

This is the beautiful story of a young, aspiring photographer, Daniel, who spends a summer in Franco’s Madrid.

I definitely had no background on Spain under Franco’s regime, and though this only shared a sliver of it, it was eye-opening to see what some of the children of enemies of Franco lived like.

Daniel meets Ana, a maid at the hotel, who he is immediately intrigued by. With the repression caused by Franco’s laws, they fight to still see each other, and Daniel struggles to understand Ana and her family.

I loved Ruta’s writing as there is no fluff or wasted words: her concise, beautiful writing is a work of art. And I couldn’t help but write down a lot of amazing quotes:

“For accurate reporting you have to find the perfect word. The perfect word captures every subtlety. The perfect word shows true comprehension.”

“Sometimes the truth is dangerous, Julia. But we should search for it nonetheless.”

“Sí, life is struggle. But he will commit wholly to the struggle and find meaning in it, rather than trying to silence it.”

This is a beautiful historical fiction book if you are interested in something for your next read! You won’t regret it!

Quotes:

“Most guests at the hotel have never known hunger – not hunger for food, not hunger for life.”

“But manicured trees don’t interest Daniel. People do. They are living, breathing landscapes. When captured at the right moment, truth reveals itself to the camera.”

“Of course Ana’s hiding something. This is Franco’s Spain. They’re all hiding something.”

“Sincerity. It’s important. If you take photos with this type of sincerity you may as well be holding a gun.”

“Bless me, Padre, for I am full of rage. I am seen by many but understood by few.”

“‘Bravery and stupidity are sometimes interchangeable.’ Rafa lights up. ‘Yes! But fear brings dimension to our lives. Without fear we will never meet courage.’”

“War is a thief, isn’t it?”

“He feels so comfortable with Ana, there’s no need to fill the space with conversation.”

“Life isn’t a fair fight.”

“There is a tension that exists between history and memory, señor. Some of us are desperate to preserve and remember, while others are desperate to forget.”

“Fuga pledges loyalty to the ‘is,’ not the ‘if.’”

“‘Still a steady flow of orphans?’ ‘Of course there are. There are always people who don’t want their children.’ ‘No,’ says Rafa. ‘People always want their children. But sometimes life commands other things.’”

“If there is a story here, whom does it belong to?”

“Fuga never compromised. He never apologized for who or what he was. His difficult past was not a burden to him but an inspiration.”

“Blame’s a cop-out, Dan, and you’re better than that. It’s easier to blame someone or something than do the work.”

“Life’s a river, Dan. It moves and it flows.”

“‘When you discover the truth, you must speak it aloud and help others to do the same Señor Matheson. Truth breaks the chains of silence.’ Puri puts a trembling hand to her chest. Her voice drops to a whisper. ‘It sets us all free.’”

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