A review by siria
The Return by Victoria Hislop

1.0

Hislop sets The Return amidst the Spanish Civil War, a bloody and fascinating period of the twentieth century—and yet somehow produced a bloodless and flaccid book. She doesn't wear her research lightly, ladling on the exposition with a heavy hand (while still making some mistakes about modern Spain which made me doubt her historical accuracy) which made me find an account of such an important conflict boring. The narrative arc was constructed entirely of clichés, the characters flat and undeveloped, the prose leaden, and the ending at once predictable yet unbelievable. Not recommended.