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A review by avigail
The Hand of Fatima by Ildefonso Falcones
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There are a lot of people that are looking for historical-fiction that doesn't take in WWII. Well, you are in luck. The Hand of Fatima is a translated work of art from Spanish (first published in Catalan) in 16th-17th century Spain. The truth is I was overwhelmed by the page count, but when I divided it to read it, chunks there were days that I wanted to continue and find out what will happen to the characters.
Falcones is a great storyteller. The historical background for this tale of fiction is accurate for times, people, and places. Unfortunately, the horror of cruelty and mistreatment occurred on the part of both Muslims and Christians. What happened in Spain was and is not new to the world, not to the east nor-west. But a division that strong, that destructive is worth studying and pondering over to never, ever repeat it.
Hernando, Fatima, Hamid, Rafaela, and many others broke my heart but will never leave it. They taught me the importance of clinging to your true self, beliefs, and identity in the face of the harshest persecution possible.
Falcones is a great storyteller. The historical background for this tale of fiction is accurate for times, people, and places. Unfortunately, the horror of cruelty and mistreatment occurred on the part of both Muslims and Christians. What happened in Spain was and is not new to the world, not to the east nor-west. But a division that strong, that destructive is worth studying and pondering over to never, ever repeat it.
Hernando, Fatima, Hamid, Rafaela, and many others broke my heart but will never leave it. They taught me the importance of clinging to your true self, beliefs, and identity in the face of the harshest persecution possible.