The Return is a beautiful novel of the Spanish Civil War, infused with dance and relationships, the sound of castanets and guitar contrasted with gunfire and screams. As with her previous novel, The Island, Victoria Hislop surrounds the story with a tale of modern womanhood in search of identity. This time a woman is questioning her marriage, finding unexpected solace in dance classes, and wondering at the incongruity of an independent woman enjoying the apparent subservience of being “led” around the dance-floor.

Visiting Spain with a childhood friend, Sonia Cameron is drawn to a small café where she meets and befriends the elderly Miguel. Photos of dancers and bullfighters on the walls intrigue her and she strikes up a conversation that will haunt her on returning to England and swiftly draw her back. Miguel, who lived through the horrors of civil war, reveals the stories behind the pictures and the café’s former owners; meanwhile Sonia learns the truth behind the dance, that both will lead and both follow, and that strength can be the quietest gift.

I knew little of the Spanish Civil War before reading this book. The author again delves into well-researched history, just as she did with The Island, and the story is told through a mix of historical and closely personal viewpoints, full of detailed facts and human pain and joy. A family grows up; siblings leave the nest; politics and war leave their deep wounds, and a world is changed. Somehow I’d failed to notice how closely the Second World War followed on the events in Spain, or how they were connected. I hadn’t realized how closely the Catholic Church became involved. I hadn’t even considered which side was which. The novel reveals the history and background, infusing it with human interest and drawing the reader in to care for the family’s tragedies. But the greatest scenes, for me, are the dance and the lingering touch of dance on relationships; the longing to dance, the emotion of dance, the truths that dance expresses that don’t need words.

I enjoyed this book better than The Island, I think because the history and point-of-view changes felt more natural. But both are fascinating and inspiring reads, not just for history, but also for a woman’s touch and the truth of identity. A long, involving novel, The Return is definitely recommended.



Disclosure: I borrowed this book from a friend of my mother.