Now Read This: “The Fountains of Silence," by Ruta Sepetys

Fans of historical fiction have something to be excited about: bestselling author and self-proclaimed “Seeker of Lost Stories” Ruta Sepetys’ new novel, “The Fountains of Silence.” This time, Sepetys takes her readers to 1950s Madrid, Spain, to explore life under the dictatorship of Generalissimo Francisco Franco — an era in which the rich grew richer, the poor grew poorer, and citizens dared not speak of the limitations, restrictions and cruelties of fascism.

The story unfolds via alternating points of view, primarily those of Ana and Daniel. Ana, a citizen of Madrid, lives in a state of destitution with her brother Rafa, her sister-in-law and baby niece. She works very hard as a maid at the Castellana Hilton, an exclusive hotel catering to wealthy clientele. When Daniel accompanies his parents, a Texas oil tycoon and his Spanish wife, on a business trip to Madrid, Ana is assigned to provide for the family’s every need at the hotel.

Although Daniel certainly notices Ana, the disparity of their backgrounds proves to be difficult (if not impossible) to transcend. Cue Romeo and Juliet storyline. But at 470 pages, this novel offers far more than a typical star-crossed love story. Daniel is a budding photojournalist, capturing multiple stories through the lens of his camera, and he unknowingly stumbles across one of the most awful stories to come out of Franco’s dictatorship — the sanctioned kidnapping of Spanish babies.

Sepetys has woven vintage media reports, oral history commentary, photographs and her own research into a rich narrative brimming with nuanced relationships through which she exposes the social, religious and political climate of Spain under Generalissimo Franco’s leadership. Her research is extensive and impressive — and her exploration of the lost children of Francoism brings a shocking secret to light. Recent investigations suggest that as many as 300,000 children and infants were stolen from parents who were imprisoned or assassinated by nationalists during the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist years. These kidnapped children were sometimes victims of child trafficking and illegal adoption. Sepetys makes the political personal by giving faces and voices to the families who were victimized, embodying her own words of wisdom: “Truth breaks the chains of silence.”

Other bestselling novels by Ruta Sepetys are “Between Shades of Gray,” “Salt to the Sea,” and “Out of the Easy” — all brilliantly researched and well-written. They are available in book, audiobook and e-book formats at the Cape Girardeau Public Library.