doriastories's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful, very complete and in-depth biography of the great and tragically murdered poet and dramatist, Federico Garcia Lorca. Stitched together in large part out of quotes from FGL and his friends and family and colleagues, there is very little authorial embroidery. Stainton respects the fact that the poet explicated his own life and state of mind with elaborate clarity, and adds factual details and connective tissue only where necessary. She makes no assumptions and is respectful of her sources.
Although the book is long, it reads well and moves along at a rapid clip, reaching its end almost before we are ready, much as did its subject. The enormity of loss sustained through this brutal and callous murder committed by Franco’s fascist henchmen is brought home with deliberate simplicity. There are no punches pulled, and his death was like a poem: inscrutable and sudden, raw and impactful.
The story of FGL’s life and murder is vital and needs to be known far and wide. There is much of beauty intertwined with the sadness and looming menace of death.
Although the book is long, it reads well and moves along at a rapid clip, reaching its end almost before we are ready, much as did its subject. The enormity of loss sustained through this brutal and callous murder committed by Franco’s fascist henchmen is brought home with deliberate simplicity. There are no punches pulled, and his death was like a poem: inscrutable and sudden, raw and impactful.
The story of FGL’s life and murder is vital and needs to be known far and wide. There is much of beauty intertwined with the sadness and looming menace of death.
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