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Los surcos del azar #1-2
Twists Of Fate
Efter Francos seger i spanska inbördeskriget 1939 tvingades hundratusentals spanjorer att fly till södra Frankrike och Nordafrika, där de internerades i läger. Under andra världskriget valde många att ta värvning i de fria franska styrkorna i Nordafrika och senare i franska armén för att fortsätta kämpa mot fascismen. De hoppades att Spanien skulle befrias när axelmakterna hade besegrats.
I Slumpens spår söker Paco Roca upp en nittiofyraårig spansk krigsveteran som motvilligt berättar om sina upplevelser i Nordafrika och Europa. Han tillhörde Nionde kompaniet, ”La Nueve”, som spelade en viktig roll vid befrielsen av Paris.
Ramberättelsen är fiktiv, men de historiska skildringarna bygger på grundlig forskning om de spanska republikanernas insatser under andra världskriget. Serieromanen blir en hyllning till alla dem som i likhet med huvudpersonen ansåg att det var lika nödvändigt att kämpa mot fascismen som att andas.
I Slumpens spår söker Paco Roca upp en nittiofyraårig spansk krigsveteran som motvilligt berättar om sina upplevelser i Nordafrika och Europa. Han tillhörde Nionde kompaniet, ”La Nueve”, som spelade en viktig roll vid befrielsen av Paris.
Ramberättelsen är fiktiv, men de historiska skildringarna bygger på grundlig forskning om de spanska republikanernas insatser under andra världskriget. Serieromanen blir en hyllning till alla dem som i likhet med huvudpersonen ansåg att det var lika nödvändigt att kämpa mot fascismen som att andas.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published November 27, 2013
96 people are currently reading
2384 people want to read
About the author
Paco Roca
84 books811 followersFrancisco Martínez Roca (aka Paco Roca) is a graphic artist and a cartoonist from Valencia, Spain, who has won several art/writing awards. His graphic novel Wrinkles has been adapted into an animated movie.
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October 21, 2025
“The infantry isn’t a good place to grow old.”
“How did you manage?
By remembering we were still fighting against fascism.”
“And then Paris celebrated.”
Clearly Roca's magnum opus, Twists of Fate is a large, ambitious graphic novel about the Spanish resistance to fascism (Hitler, Mussolini). Just available in English, and very moving, focused on a 94 yr old survivor of the war, Miguel Campos, (a composite figure) who tells his tale to the cartoonist, Roca, who clearly has done his homework. This is fiction, useful for its contribution to an historical perspective on Spain's part in allied efforts in WWII. As with Maus, we tack back and forth between the present, as Roca meets with Campos, and the (more vividly colored) scenes from the forties.
Campos was a member of “La Nueve,” a company of men that went straight from fighting for their homeland in the Spanish Civil War to battles spanning the globe in WWII, and his stories help us see another perspective for those who only know the well-documented American side of the war: Spanish Republicans driven out by Franco in 1939 who kept up the antifascist fight. After years in a brutal Saharan labor camp, Campos followed de Gaulle to fight in the Free French Army to liberate Paris. A girl whom Miguel years ago met on a boat also meets him in a Paris: One of several twists of fate that happen in the book.
One of the great books of the year, you already know it. In this year when the world focuses on WWII, this is a great personal story of individual involvement. Though there are maps and some details about the war, some sense of the battles, and lots of sources in an appendix, the heart of this book is the sense of commitment, the passion for fighting dictators. Immensely relevant as those who have no sense of history fall into fascist traps again, as extremist alt-right movements slide into fascism globally. I, essentially a pacifist, was extremely inspired and often moved by it.
Bob Dylan, “Twist of Fate”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXlkw...
“How did you manage?
By remembering we were still fighting against fascism.”
“And then Paris celebrated.”
Clearly Roca's magnum opus, Twists of Fate is a large, ambitious graphic novel about the Spanish resistance to fascism (Hitler, Mussolini). Just available in English, and very moving, focused on a 94 yr old survivor of the war, Miguel Campos, (a composite figure) who tells his tale to the cartoonist, Roca, who clearly has done his homework. This is fiction, useful for its contribution to an historical perspective on Spain's part in allied efforts in WWII. As with Maus, we tack back and forth between the present, as Roca meets with Campos, and the (more vividly colored) scenes from the forties.
Campos was a member of “La Nueve,” a company of men that went straight from fighting for their homeland in the Spanish Civil War to battles spanning the globe in WWII, and his stories help us see another perspective for those who only know the well-documented American side of the war: Spanish Republicans driven out by Franco in 1939 who kept up the antifascist fight. After years in a brutal Saharan labor camp, Campos followed de Gaulle to fight in the Free French Army to liberate Paris. A girl whom Miguel years ago met on a boat also meets him in a Paris: One of several twists of fate that happen in the book.
One of the great books of the year, you already know it. In this year when the world focuses on WWII, this is a great personal story of individual involvement. Though there are maps and some details about the war, some sense of the battles, and lots of sources in an appendix, the heart of this book is the sense of commitment, the passion for fighting dictators. Immensely relevant as those who have no sense of history fall into fascist traps again, as extremist alt-right movements slide into fascism globally. I, essentially a pacifist, was extremely inspired and often moved by it.
Bob Dylan, “Twist of Fate”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXlkw...
August 12, 2014
Llego tarde a reseñar este cómic, pero es que hasta hace poco no he podido hacerme con él, por una de esas ofertas a las que no se puede decir que no de Outletfriki. El caso es que es un soberano tebeaco de mas de 300 paginas y teniendo reciente "Las Guerras Silenciosas" y estando metido de lleno en jugar (y perder constantemente contra los nazis) online en el "Heroes & Generals", pues ando muy bélico últimamente.
En los surcos del azar Paco Roca nos cuenta la historia de "La Novena", una compañía de soldados españoles exiliados de la guerra civil, que por esos surcos del azar, acaban siendo los primeros en entrar en la París ocupada por los nazis. Pero a lo largo de mas de 300 paginas y hasta llegar a París, el camino nos llevara desde el puerto de valencia, con escenas muy duras y tristes, hasta África, las penurias en los campos norteafricanos, pasando por Escocia al unirse a la ofensiva aliada contra Hitler, hasta llegar a Paris.
Todo desde la perspectiva de un ex combatiente residente en Francia, al que Paco Roca, como un personaje del propio tebeo, entrevista casi con abrelatas al principio para conseguir que cuente su historia, de la que no había hablado a nadie en mucho tiempo y que parece olvidada por los libros de historia.
La verdad es que se me ha hecho mas duro de lo esperado y es que no hay dulcificación posible en lo que a la lucha contra el fascismo se refiere. Reconozco que en mas una ocasión se me ha encogido el corazoncillo y he tenido que pelear (y he perdido) para retener alguna lagrima. Es duro, directo, necesario y emotivo, y todo ello son cualidades que no muchos tebeos suelen tener. Os diría directamente que es una lectura obligada.
En los surcos del azar Paco Roca nos cuenta la historia de "La Novena", una compañía de soldados españoles exiliados de la guerra civil, que por esos surcos del azar, acaban siendo los primeros en entrar en la París ocupada por los nazis. Pero a lo largo de mas de 300 paginas y hasta llegar a París, el camino nos llevara desde el puerto de valencia, con escenas muy duras y tristes, hasta África, las penurias en los campos norteafricanos, pasando por Escocia al unirse a la ofensiva aliada contra Hitler, hasta llegar a Paris.
Todo desde la perspectiva de un ex combatiente residente en Francia, al que Paco Roca, como un personaje del propio tebeo, entrevista casi con abrelatas al principio para conseguir que cuente su historia, de la que no había hablado a nadie en mucho tiempo y que parece olvidada por los libros de historia.
La verdad es que se me ha hecho mas duro de lo esperado y es que no hay dulcificación posible en lo que a la lucha contra el fascismo se refiere. Reconozco que en mas una ocasión se me ha encogido el corazoncillo y he tenido que pelear (y he perdido) para retener alguna lagrima. Es duro, directo, necesario y emotivo, y todo ello son cualidades que no muchos tebeos suelen tener. Os diría directamente que es una lectura obligada.
January 11, 2024
This is the story of La Nueve. I had no idea about its existence, so I will provide the first two small paragraphs from the Wikipedia article:
“The 9th Company of the Régiment de marche du Tchad, part of the French 2nd Armored Division (also known as Division Leclerc) was nicknamed La Nueve (Spanish for "the nine"). The company consisted of 160 men under French command, 146 of whom were Spanish republicans including many anarchists, and French soldiers. All had fought during the liberation of French North Africa, and later participated in the Liberation of France.
The 9th Company's most notable military accomplishment was its important role in the Liberation of Paris. Men of La Nueve were the first to enter the French capital on the evening of 24 August 1944, with half-tracks bearing the names of the Spanish Civil War battles of Teruel and Guadalajara, and accompanied by engineering personnel and three tanks, Montmirail, Champaubert and Romilly, from the 501e Régiment de chars de combat.”
My WWII knowledge is something I am chipping away at actively, but the erasure of the role of the Spanish in the war is not foreign to the writings around the conflict. That’s always been a question of mine too: what about the Spanish? Obviously they had their own conflict to deal with. This book explores that in depth, showing the horrible treatment of many of the exiled Spanish natives. There is a gruesome boat journey out of Spain, with conditions so bad that people were attempting to sleep standing up. That stayed with me, weirdly above and beyond the display of combat later in the book.
And apparently Paris was not “a moveable feast”. Though a famous American writer does make an appearance here.
Paco Roca is a real talent. I am a massive fan.
“The 9th Company of the Régiment de marche du Tchad, part of the French 2nd Armored Division (also known as Division Leclerc) was nicknamed La Nueve (Spanish for "the nine"). The company consisted of 160 men under French command, 146 of whom were Spanish republicans including many anarchists, and French soldiers. All had fought during the liberation of French North Africa, and later participated in the Liberation of France.
The 9th Company's most notable military accomplishment was its important role in the Liberation of Paris. Men of La Nueve were the first to enter the French capital on the evening of 24 August 1944, with half-tracks bearing the names of the Spanish Civil War battles of Teruel and Guadalajara, and accompanied by engineering personnel and three tanks, Montmirail, Champaubert and Romilly, from the 501e Régiment de chars de combat.”
My WWII knowledge is something I am chipping away at actively, but the erasure of the role of the Spanish in the war is not foreign to the writings around the conflict. That’s always been a question of mine too: what about the Spanish? Obviously they had their own conflict to deal with. This book explores that in depth, showing the horrible treatment of many of the exiled Spanish natives. There is a gruesome boat journey out of Spain, with conditions so bad that people were attempting to sleep standing up. That stayed with me, weirdly above and beyond the display of combat later in the book.
And apparently Paris was not “a moveable feast”. Though a famous American writer does make an appearance here.
Paco Roca is a real talent. I am a massive fan.
July 23, 2019
I was a big fan of Paco Roca's earlier work Wrinkles, a look at one man's experience with Alzheimers. Knowing myself a fan still didn't prepare me for just how much I would enjoy Roca telling the story of La Nueve (wikipedia), a WWII combat unit composed principally of Spanish republicans and anarchists who'd fled Spain at the end of its civil war, hoping on the Allied promise of assistance in defenestrating fascism from Spain just as soon as Paris could get liberated. Hint: the Allies promptly forgot.
Through a series of interviews with a fictional conglomeration character, Roca (a character himself in the story) is able to tell us the story of these largely ignored men and their place in the bloody culmination of modernist history.
The illustrations are lovely and lively, the storytelling momentous and moving, and the history a tapestry of the human drive for freedom and destruction. Highly recommend.
Through a series of interviews with a fictional conglomeration character, Roca (a character himself in the story) is able to tell us the story of these largely ignored men and their place in the bloody culmination of modernist history.
The illustrations are lovely and lively, the storytelling momentous and moving, and the history a tapestry of the human drive for freedom and destruction. Highly recommend.
November 16, 2021
A fairly engrossing historical fiction about World War II from the perspective of Miguel Ruiz, a Spanish Republican who flees Spain at the end of its civil war only to enlist with the Free French army in order to continue the fight against fascists in northern Africa and France. Half of the book is set in the present day with Paco Roca inserting himself into the story as he tracks down and interviews the elderly, grumpy and taciturn Ruiz. It's a nice reminder that the allied forces in Europe and Africa consisted of more than just Americans, the British and the French and a dark reminder of how the Spanish people were left to suffer under the oppression of Francisco Franco at the end of World War II.
January 31, 2022
Creo que no hay mejor forma de conocer la historia de “La nueve” que este libro.
“Para qué llamar caminos a los surcos del azar” A. Machado.
“Para qué llamar caminos a los surcos del azar” A. Machado.
March 31, 2019
According to the back cover, this book has been called “the Spanish Maus.” … yeah … yeah, I suppose I can see that. Both are narratives of World War II, and both are also about their own creation. We see their creators--Spiegelman in Maus, and Roca in this volume--interviewing their elderly subjects about their experiences.
There are many differences as well. For one thing, Roca doesn't feel the need to distance himself from his narrative by portraying his characters as animals (and I'm certainly not implying that it's a bad thing that Maus does this; they're just different approaches to storytelling is all.) Also, the subject matter in Twists of Fate is more obscure, or at least it was less familiar to me.
Roca focuses on the role of the exiled Spanish republicans who fought against Franco in the Spanish Civil War. A number of them wound up fighting in the French 2nd Armored Division under General Leclerc. They played a fairly significant role in the Liberation of Paris among other achievements. By narrowing his focus to this one group, actually one man among them, Roca is able to cast new light on events that I kind of knew in general from history books, but had never appreciated in such detail until now.
Twists of fate is a moving and captivating story, well worth your time. Recommended!
There are many differences as well. For one thing, Roca doesn't feel the need to distance himself from his narrative by portraying his characters as animals (and I'm certainly not implying that it's a bad thing that Maus does this; they're just different approaches to storytelling is all.) Also, the subject matter in Twists of Fate is more obscure, or at least it was less familiar to me.
Roca focuses on the role of the exiled Spanish republicans who fought against Franco in the Spanish Civil War. A number of them wound up fighting in the French 2nd Armored Division under General Leclerc. They played a fairly significant role in the Liberation of Paris among other achievements. By narrowing his focus to this one group, actually one man among them, Roca is able to cast new light on events that I kind of knew in general from history books, but had never appreciated in such detail until now.
Twists of fate is a moving and captivating story, well worth your time. Recommended!
November 21, 2017
Mijn review voor Hebban (waar ook een paar afbeeldingen uit het boek bij de recensie staan):
Eén van de interessantste gevolgen van het uitzoeken van een vrijwel onbekend stuk geschiedenis is dat het ineens een ander licht werpt op het plaatje dat zich in je hoofd gevormd heeft. Dit is precies wat Paco Roca in 2008 overkwam. Paco Roca (geboren in 1969 in Valencia, Spanje) was op bezoek in Parijs en woonde daar een lezing bij over ‘La Nueve’. La Nueve was de bijnaam van de 9e compagnie onder de divisie-Leclerc, zo genoemd omdat er zich onder de 160 manschappen 146 Spaanse Republikeinen bevonden. Spanjaarden die in 1944 als eerste Parijs bevrijdden, een gegeven dat pas vrij laat in de geschreven geschiedenis naar voren komt en bij weinig mensen bekend is. Eén en ander werd ontdekt door het nader bestuderen van zeldzame kleurenfoto’s uit die tijd, waarop onder andere te zien is dat een half-track de naam van een Spaanse stad draagt en naast de bestuurder een kleine Spaans Republikeinse driekleur (rood/geel/paars) te vinden is. Uiteindelijk zat politiek spel de genuanceerde waarheid toentertijd in de weg. Paco Roca’s interesse was gewekt en zo startte hij zijn onderzoek naar deze compagnie, een onderzoek dat vijf jaar in beslag nam en resulteerde in deze lijvige graphic novel Sporen van het toeval.
Het verhaal begint in 1939, tegen het einde van de zeer bloedige Spaanse Burgeroorlog. De democratie is omver geworpen en het fascistische regime Franco komt aan de macht. Duizenden linkse republikeinse Spanjaarden slaan op de vlucht. Eén van deze toenmalige vluchtelingen is Miguel Ruiz, met zijn 96 jaar één van de laatste nog levende ooggetuigen, die gediend heeft onder generaal Leclerc. In Sporen van het toeval volgen we zijn leven in twee verhaallijnen. In de eerste verhaallijn zien we Paco en Miguel in gesprek - sober verteld en verbeeld - slechts ondersteund door één lichte steunkleur. Miguel leeft een teruggetrokken bestaan in een klein plaatsje in het Oosten van Frankrijk, verstopt ook voor zijn eigen herinneringen aan deze roerige periode in zijn leven. In de tweede verhaallijn volgen we Miguel Ruiz in de periode tussen maart 1939 en de bevrijding van Parijs in augustus 1944 - deze is verbeeld in subtiele kleuren.
Chaos, het nieuws dat Franco aan de winnende hand is bereikt langzaam de haven van Allicante, waar Spaanse Republikeinen massaal op de kade staan om de naderende fascisten te ontvluchten. Er is hoop, er zullen boten komen om hen te redden, maar er meert maar één boot aan, de Stanbrook, een Brits stoomschip geschikt voor ongeveer 24 man dat niet veel later zal vertrekken met 2638 dicht opeengepakte bannelingen aan boord. Miguel Ruiz is één van hen en vanaf hier ontspinnen zich via hem de gebeurtenissen van deze vergeten groep mensen. Wij volgen zijn weg die via Algerije naar een concentratiekamp in de Sahara leidt, waar Miguel onder toezicht van de asmogendheden onder de meest erbarmelijke omstandigheden aan de Trans-Saharaspoorlijn te werk wordt gezet. Eind 1942, het Vichy-regime wordt verslagen door de geallieerden en hierdoor krijgen de Spanjaarden kans om van alle uitzichtloze mogelijkheden zich te kiezen voor het aansluiten bij de Franse strijdkrachten om met hen via Engeland naar Frankrijk te vertrekken en op te rukken naar Parijs. Het geheel wordt zonder sentiment of verheerlijking verteld, wat het een stuk overtuigender en sterker maakt om te lezen.
Sporen van het toeval is een graphic novel die uitermate precies is getekend en geschreven, het historisch onderzoek is zeer gedegen uitgevoerd en Roca heeft niet nagelaten om deskundigen in te schakelen bij twijfel over de uiteindelijke inhoud en weergave. Een sterk werk waarbij de ingetogen stijl van tekenen en kleur de feitelijke inhoud onderstreept. Er is al veel over de Tweede Wereldoorlog geschreven, maar al lezende is er het besef dat de plek waar men geboren is altijd een deel van het gevormde beeld bepaald. Het is niet direct een eenvoudig boek om te lezen, zeker in het begin, als je wat minder thuis bent in de details kost het even wat extra moeite om het verhaal in het grotere geheel te plaatsen. Roca is erin geslaagd om met dit heel persoonlijke verhaal een verdrongen geschiedenis onder de aandacht te brengen.
Eén van de interessantste gevolgen van het uitzoeken van een vrijwel onbekend stuk geschiedenis is dat het ineens een ander licht werpt op het plaatje dat zich in je hoofd gevormd heeft. Dit is precies wat Paco Roca in 2008 overkwam. Paco Roca (geboren in 1969 in Valencia, Spanje) was op bezoek in Parijs en woonde daar een lezing bij over ‘La Nueve’. La Nueve was de bijnaam van de 9e compagnie onder de divisie-Leclerc, zo genoemd omdat er zich onder de 160 manschappen 146 Spaanse Republikeinen bevonden. Spanjaarden die in 1944 als eerste Parijs bevrijdden, een gegeven dat pas vrij laat in de geschreven geschiedenis naar voren komt en bij weinig mensen bekend is. Eén en ander werd ontdekt door het nader bestuderen van zeldzame kleurenfoto’s uit die tijd, waarop onder andere te zien is dat een half-track de naam van een Spaanse stad draagt en naast de bestuurder een kleine Spaans Republikeinse driekleur (rood/geel/paars) te vinden is. Uiteindelijk zat politiek spel de genuanceerde waarheid toentertijd in de weg. Paco Roca’s interesse was gewekt en zo startte hij zijn onderzoek naar deze compagnie, een onderzoek dat vijf jaar in beslag nam en resulteerde in deze lijvige graphic novel Sporen van het toeval.
Het verhaal begint in 1939, tegen het einde van de zeer bloedige Spaanse Burgeroorlog. De democratie is omver geworpen en het fascistische regime Franco komt aan de macht. Duizenden linkse republikeinse Spanjaarden slaan op de vlucht. Eén van deze toenmalige vluchtelingen is Miguel Ruiz, met zijn 96 jaar één van de laatste nog levende ooggetuigen, die gediend heeft onder generaal Leclerc. In Sporen van het toeval volgen we zijn leven in twee verhaallijnen. In de eerste verhaallijn zien we Paco en Miguel in gesprek - sober verteld en verbeeld - slechts ondersteund door één lichte steunkleur. Miguel leeft een teruggetrokken bestaan in een klein plaatsje in het Oosten van Frankrijk, verstopt ook voor zijn eigen herinneringen aan deze roerige periode in zijn leven. In de tweede verhaallijn volgen we Miguel Ruiz in de periode tussen maart 1939 en de bevrijding van Parijs in augustus 1944 - deze is verbeeld in subtiele kleuren.
Chaos, het nieuws dat Franco aan de winnende hand is bereikt langzaam de haven van Allicante, waar Spaanse Republikeinen massaal op de kade staan om de naderende fascisten te ontvluchten. Er is hoop, er zullen boten komen om hen te redden, maar er meert maar één boot aan, de Stanbrook, een Brits stoomschip geschikt voor ongeveer 24 man dat niet veel later zal vertrekken met 2638 dicht opeengepakte bannelingen aan boord. Miguel Ruiz is één van hen en vanaf hier ontspinnen zich via hem de gebeurtenissen van deze vergeten groep mensen. Wij volgen zijn weg die via Algerije naar een concentratiekamp in de Sahara leidt, waar Miguel onder toezicht van de asmogendheden onder de meest erbarmelijke omstandigheden aan de Trans-Saharaspoorlijn te werk wordt gezet. Eind 1942, het Vichy-regime wordt verslagen door de geallieerden en hierdoor krijgen de Spanjaarden kans om van alle uitzichtloze mogelijkheden zich te kiezen voor het aansluiten bij de Franse strijdkrachten om met hen via Engeland naar Frankrijk te vertrekken en op te rukken naar Parijs. Het geheel wordt zonder sentiment of verheerlijking verteld, wat het een stuk overtuigender en sterker maakt om te lezen.
Sporen van het toeval is een graphic novel die uitermate precies is getekend en geschreven, het historisch onderzoek is zeer gedegen uitgevoerd en Roca heeft niet nagelaten om deskundigen in te schakelen bij twijfel over de uiteindelijke inhoud en weergave. Een sterk werk waarbij de ingetogen stijl van tekenen en kleur de feitelijke inhoud onderstreept. Er is al veel over de Tweede Wereldoorlog geschreven, maar al lezende is er het besef dat de plek waar men geboren is altijd een deel van het gevormde beeld bepaald. Het is niet direct een eenvoudig boek om te lezen, zeker in het begin, als je wat minder thuis bent in de details kost het even wat extra moeite om het verhaal in het grotere geheel te plaatsen. Roca is erin geslaagd om met dit heel persoonlijke verhaal een verdrongen geschiedenis onder de aandacht te brengen.
May 22, 2024
“¿Para qué llamar caminos
a los surcos del azar?...
Todo el que camina anda,
como Jesús, sobre el mar.”
Antonio Machado
El 20 de agosto de 1944 se sublevó contra los alemanes. La compañía “La nueve”, formada íntegramente por soldados republicanos españoles que se encontraban exiliados, fue la primera en entrar a la capital francesa. El resto, es Historia.
Entender, conocer y comprender la Historia forma parte de la cultura de cualquier ser humano. Porque sin Historia, y sin Memoria, no somos nada. En Francia, cada agosto, se realiza un acto homenaje en memoria a la división republicana. ¿En España? El olvido.
Un país que no conoce su Historia, está condenado a repetirla. Un país que condecora a fascistas, criminales y monarcas que nos roban y se burlan de nosotros, está condenado a lo peor.
Paco Roca reconstruye en “Los surcos del azar” la historia de La Nueve, de aquellos hombres exiliados que lucharon por el país vecino, con la esperanza de poder volver a España y ser reconocidos como lo que fueron: héroes. Y, sin embargo, la mayoría de ellos, tuvieron que permanecer en el exilio hasta la muerte del dictador en 1975.
Leer esta novela gráfica es abrir los ojos, es aprender, es conocer y es entender. Empaparte de Historia y de verdad, y asumir, una vez más, que la Memoria Histórica está más presente que nunca.
a los surcos del azar?...
Todo el que camina anda,
como Jesús, sobre el mar.”
Antonio Machado
El 20 de agosto de 1944 se sublevó contra los alemanes. La compañía “La nueve”, formada íntegramente por soldados republicanos españoles que se encontraban exiliados, fue la primera en entrar a la capital francesa. El resto, es Historia.
Entender, conocer y comprender la Historia forma parte de la cultura de cualquier ser humano. Porque sin Historia, y sin Memoria, no somos nada. En Francia, cada agosto, se realiza un acto homenaje en memoria a la división republicana. ¿En España? El olvido.
Un país que no conoce su Historia, está condenado a repetirla. Un país que condecora a fascistas, criminales y monarcas que nos roban y se burlan de nosotros, está condenado a lo peor.
Paco Roca reconstruye en “Los surcos del azar” la historia de La Nueve, de aquellos hombres exiliados que lucharon por el país vecino, con la esperanza de poder volver a España y ser reconocidos como lo que fueron: héroes. Y, sin embargo, la mayoría de ellos, tuvieron que permanecer en el exilio hasta la muerte del dictador en 1975.
Leer esta novela gráfica es abrir los ojos, es aprender, es conocer y es entender. Empaparte de Historia y de verdad, y asumir, una vez más, que la Memoria Histórica está más presente que nunca.
November 24, 2018
Soy hija de españoles nacida en Venezuela, y la verdad es que mis padres poco recordaban, o más bien poco sabían de la Guerra Civil Española y mis abuelos maternos (con los cuales tuve la dicha de criarme) simplemente no hablaban de ese tema, y cuando lo hacían yo entendía muy poco porque era muy pequeña. Pero a pesar de su silencio la marca de una guerra queda tatuada en el alma y en el rostro de quien la ha contemplado o de quien lo ha perdido todo en ella. Luego por los estudios y las lecturas pude saber un poco más y tener un panorama más amplio de lo que sucedió en esa época tan oscura. Ahora con esta novela gráfica pude descubrir un nuevo episodio, contado por la voz de un protagonista veterano de La Nueve a través de una entrevista que nos lleva al lugar de los hechos y nos narra con datos y fechas precisas todo lo que tuvo que vivir en soledad, en familia y con unas tropas decididas a no dejarse vencer. Siempre es doloroso leer sobre guerras pero es tanto lo que se aprende que vale la pena, aunque sabemos que para España no tuvo el final que se deseaba fue de gran ayuda para todo el continente europeo el trabajo y la valentía de estos hombres que siguieron Los Surcos del Azar.
March 2, 2020
Me ha emocionado mucho,un relato vibrante de una parte de nuestra historia casi olvidada
March 2, 2023
The splendid Spanish writer/illustrator Paco Roca has produced another excellent graphic novel with this book about Spanish Republicans, their flight to Africa after Franco seized power, the shifting sands of colonial power and influence in Africa, and then their history with the Allies in liberating Europe from fascists — but not from Franco.
The Spanish Loyalists were seen by other powers are being too "communist" in their sympathies, and their cause ultimately got swept up with generalized anti-communist sentiments.
But Spanish troops with the French army had a reputation as good fighters, and were first into Paris to liberate the city, and Spanish freedom fighters were instrumental in supporting the activities of the French resistance.
The Spanish Civil War is often overshadowed by World War II, especially when viewed from far-away, self-congratulatory America. The twists and turns of fate endured by thousands of Spaniards in exile, fighting for a dream which would not be realized (for most of them) in their lifetimes, is an amazing story, told here through the voice of an elderly man being interviewed by a graphic novelist named Paco Roca who is researching the shape-shifting name-changing anarchists and loyalists with the intention of writing a book.
Is this memoir, or fiction? The epilogue by a U.S historian says the book is historically accurate. The result is a slightly fictionalized take on the twists of fate that churned Spain, Europe, Tunisia, Chad, Algeria, Libya, and the rest of the world.
The Spanish Loyalists were seen by other powers are being too "communist" in their sympathies, and their cause ultimately got swept up with generalized anti-communist sentiments.
But Spanish troops with the French army had a reputation as good fighters, and were first into Paris to liberate the city, and Spanish freedom fighters were instrumental in supporting the activities of the French resistance.
The Spanish Civil War is often overshadowed by World War II, especially when viewed from far-away, self-congratulatory America. The twists and turns of fate endured by thousands of Spaniards in exile, fighting for a dream which would not be realized (for most of them) in their lifetimes, is an amazing story, told here through the voice of an elderly man being interviewed by a graphic novelist named Paco Roca who is researching the shape-shifting name-changing anarchists and loyalists with the intention of writing a book.
Is this memoir, or fiction? The epilogue by a U.S historian says the book is historically accurate. The result is a slightly fictionalized take on the twists of fate that churned Spain, Europe, Tunisia, Chad, Algeria, Libya, and the rest of the world.
May 11, 2025
dnf 177
Muy infodumping para mí gusto, se queda en lo bélico y ya, le falta algo, no me está interesando.
Muy infodumping para mí gusto, se queda en lo bélico y ya, le falta algo, no me está interesando.
August 7, 2018
Paco Roca ha llevado a cabo una labor mastodóntica para este libro: tanto en un sentido pictórico y literario, como en un sentido documental. Contar la participación española en la Segunda Guerra Mundial era una labor ardua pero interesantísima. Sin embargo, para mí, como lector, me parece que ha sido demasiado descriptivo en lo relativo a los avatares vitales de un grupo de soldados que, si bien viven algunos episodios fascinantes, también viven otras muchas situaciones meramente bélicas que poco aportan al lector. Tampoco me ha terminado de encajar la forma de hacer referencia al pasado desde el presente, con el típico recursos de un joven que le pide a un anciano que le cuente sus episodios de juventud.
February 28, 2020
Qué triste es :( Me han entrado ganas de llorar.
December 2, 2025
Historical fiction about a Spanish Republican group (La Nueve), who left Spain at the end of its civil war to enlist with the Free French Army to continue fighting fascists in northern Africa and then against Hitler in France, from the perspective of a soldier, Miguel Ruiz. The story is told in two timelines: first, in the present day with the author tracking down and interviewing an elderly, moody Ruiz, who thinks nobody cares about his service; and second, the skirmishes and battles, both among leaders as well as the enemy. At its core, it is a reminder of how the Spaniards were left to suffer under the oppression of Franco at the end of World War II, and why Ruiz refused to return to his country of birth.
November 10, 2023
El dibuix de Paco Roca m'encanta. Aquesta és la meva segona aproximació a Roca i el meu bon regust s'ha mantingut. Potser, 'La Casa' em va agradar més a nivell de temàtica i estructura, ja que el plantejament de 'Los surcos del Aznar' em va semblar una mica vist, amb l'autor entrevistant a un soldat de la WWII combinat amb flashbacks de la seva vida. No ho sé, a mi em recorda a Mauss o fins i tot a Joe Sacco.
Els llibres de vivències de guerra són un gènere que m'agrada en general, raó per la qual no és sorprenent que també m'agradi en còmic.
Vull que quedi clar que l'història és fascinant i molt entretinguda. Un detall a destacar, i que crec que es repeteix en molts dels supervivents de les guerres, és que el protagonista no havia compartit amb el seu entorn que era un heroi de guerra ni havia explicat la seva història.
Els llibres de vivències de guerra són un gènere que m'agrada en general, raó per la qual no és sorprenent que també m'agradi en còmic.
Vull que quedi clar que l'història és fascinant i molt entretinguda. Un detall a destacar, i que crec que es repeteix en molts dels supervivents de les guerres, és que el protagonista no havia compartit amb el seu entorn que era un heroi de guerra ni havia explicat la seva història.
June 27, 2019
Sou uma apaixonada por tudo o que esteja relacionado com a Segunda Guerra Mundial e adorei este livro 😍
A parte gráfica é fantástica mas a história, para mim, ainda é mais. Não sabia nada sobre "La Nueve", a 9ª Companhia do Regimento de Marche du Tchad, parte da 2ª Divisão Blindada, ou Divisão Leclerc. Fiquei a conhecer um pouco da história dos espanhóis republicanos que a integraram e qual o seu papel na Libertação de Paris em agosto de 1944. (Faz este ano 75 anos)
Recomendo esta graphic novel a quem se interessar por este tema. Vale mesmo a pena!!!
A parte gráfica é fantástica mas a história, para mim, ainda é mais. Não sabia nada sobre "La Nueve", a 9ª Companhia do Regimento de Marche du Tchad, parte da 2ª Divisão Blindada, ou Divisão Leclerc. Fiquei a conhecer um pouco da história dos espanhóis republicanos que a integraram e qual o seu papel na Libertação de Paris em agosto de 1944. (Faz este ano 75 anos)
Recomendo esta graphic novel a quem se interessar por este tema. Vale mesmo a pena!!!
July 27, 2024
Twists of Fates is a truly fitting title to this megastar of a graphic novel. This was a great adventure and beautiful read. It was bleak, heroic, raw, and beautifully executed.
The story line follows an interview of important value of the history of “Le Nueve” during WWII. It’s heartbreaking, heroic, important read. Every art panel shined. Highly recommended.
The story line follows an interview of important value of the history of “Le Nueve” during WWII. It’s heartbreaking, heroic, important read. Every art panel shined. Highly recommended.
February 12, 2025
Cómic maravilloso y necesario. Otra historia de Paco Rosa sobre la memoria histórica. Nunca me cansaré de leerlo 🩷🌷
May 25, 2019
History holds so much sadness, so much unnamed courage: hopeless indigenous defenders against the guns, germs and the cruel impunity of colonialists, the millions of mothers who have defended their children from danger at the cost of their own mortality - (hell, childbirth alone risks your life for theirs) - all of the civilians who did silent heroic things in their lives that die with them; but there, for me is something especially bitter, especially tragic, about the Spanish Civil War. The backhanded collusion of the western countries who, so soon after betraying the young, hopeful, anti-fascist Republic of Spain had to gather together all they had and sacrifice millions of their own in fighting those same fascists they had not just allowed to practice their weaponry and methods on the young Republic, but profited by bringing down. Within an infancy, the American, French, & multinational corporations that “couldn’t” help defend against Franco, indeed were quick to happily recognize his Fascist government, and had gained during the conflict - had to decide if they if they were Vichy Hitler supporters or exiles.
This sublimely rendered graphic novel, my second by Paco Roca, begins at the end of that war of believers; fought by those who didn’t carefully weigh their options, their risks, their long term gains, but by those to whom the fight against Fascism was “as necessary as breathing”. It begins at the Port of Alicante in March of 1939, and we are drawn into the epic tale of “La Nueve” a company of Spanish veterans, exiled, enslaved, escaped, retrained, and so much more - who go on to be the first to free Paris from the Nazis. All true.
(pp 131 - 133) We learn that as the Free French army under Raymond Dronne, and Joseph Putz (a Frenchman who had fought in the International Brigades) are assembling in Alexandria, our Spaniards - some of whom had been part of the Free Corps of Africa - join them. LeClerc (“El Patron”) arrives and they are directed to go to Morocco to train on the new groovy USA weapons.
But, LeClerc, says, he has been given one condition: “To get rid of the Chadians.”
Dronne protests - he says they’ve been with him since the beginning, that they are awesome - fought valiantly since the beginning of the African campaign (freeing Tunisia, driving out Rommel…)
LeClerc: “They” (read: the USA) “don’t want Africans liberating Europe”
Dronne: “What are you going to to General?...Those men were the first soldiers of free France.”
LeClerc: “The decision has already been made, Dronne.”
gulp.
(p 177) This artist. When the Vichy traitors took France, De Gaulle and those who would become the free French army left for years. Roca’s detailed scenes of them, with their Spaniard compatriots, arriving on Utah Beach post D-Day, landing, shows Frenchmen falling on their knees to kiss their homeland.. “After so much suffering, we’re finally here again.” The look from our protagonist, our storyteller, is more heartbreaking than Millais’ painting of the 'Princes in the Tower'.
The unsaid aggregation, the painful alignment of “Don’t you see how much longer we have waited? And more we have suffered? And how much farther we are from our kiss?”
and you know, but he doesn’t then - like the Princes in the painting, who go on to be murdered -- that Spain is never freed from Franco; that the corporate and international betrayals that allowed Nazis to practice and fascism free range to terrorize and destroy the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War, continued until Franco’s death in 1975. You know that his kiss never came.
The other day on my Instagram feed Banksy showed his “booth” in Venice, displaying a multipart, painted, graphic perfect representation of the port just behind the location of the booth. Classic Banksy, except not as overtly political, this just being about the value of art? We see passersby glance, some taking a second, some dismissively gesturing, having no clue of course - due to Banksy’s delicious anonymity - that this ‘street art’ is worth bagillions of dollars. I feel this way about Roca’s work. I can’t believe i get to keep this book.
Except, maybe, with history this unknown, and this important, maybe i should give it away?
This sublimely rendered graphic novel, my second by Paco Roca, begins at the end of that war of believers; fought by those who didn’t carefully weigh their options, their risks, their long term gains, but by those to whom the fight against Fascism was “as necessary as breathing”. It begins at the Port of Alicante in March of 1939, and we are drawn into the epic tale of “La Nueve” a company of Spanish veterans, exiled, enslaved, escaped, retrained, and so much more - who go on to be the first to free Paris from the Nazis. All true.
(pp 131 - 133) We learn that as the Free French army under Raymond Dronne, and Joseph Putz (a Frenchman who had fought in the International Brigades) are assembling in Alexandria, our Spaniards - some of whom had been part of the Free Corps of Africa - join them. LeClerc (“El Patron”) arrives and they are directed to go to Morocco to train on the new groovy USA weapons.
But, LeClerc, says, he has been given one condition: “To get rid of the Chadians.”
Dronne protests - he says they’ve been with him since the beginning, that they are awesome - fought valiantly since the beginning of the African campaign (freeing Tunisia, driving out Rommel…)
LeClerc: “They” (read: the USA) “don’t want Africans liberating Europe”
Dronne: “What are you going to to General?...Those men were the first soldiers of free France.”
LeClerc: “The decision has already been made, Dronne.”
gulp.
(p 177) This artist. When the Vichy traitors took France, De Gaulle and those who would become the free French army left for years. Roca’s detailed scenes of them, with their Spaniard compatriots, arriving on Utah Beach post D-Day, landing, shows Frenchmen falling on their knees to kiss their homeland.. “After so much suffering, we’re finally here again.” The look from our protagonist, our storyteller, is more heartbreaking than Millais’ painting of the 'Princes in the Tower'.
The unsaid aggregation, the painful alignment of “Don’t you see how much longer we have waited? And more we have suffered? And how much farther we are from our kiss?”
and you know, but he doesn’t then - like the Princes in the painting, who go on to be murdered -- that Spain is never freed from Franco; that the corporate and international betrayals that allowed Nazis to practice and fascism free range to terrorize and destroy the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War, continued until Franco’s death in 1975. You know that his kiss never came.
The other day on my Instagram feed Banksy showed his “booth” in Venice, displaying a multipart, painted, graphic perfect representation of the port just behind the location of the booth. Classic Banksy, except not as overtly political, this just being about the value of art? We see passersby glance, some taking a second, some dismissively gesturing, having no clue of course - due to Banksy’s delicious anonymity - that this ‘street art’ is worth bagillions of dollars. I feel this way about Roca’s work. I can’t believe i get to keep this book.
Except, maybe, with history this unknown, and this important, maybe i should give it away?
August 10, 2023
Obra maestra antifascista.
Paco Roca, gracias por esta maravilla.
Tarde o temprano volveré a estas páginas que tantas emociones me han provocado.
Paco Roca, gracias por esta maravilla.
Tarde o temprano volveré a estas páginas que tantas emociones me han provocado.
December 23, 2020
Пако Рока зробив ціле наукове дослідження у своїй графічній роботі "Повороти долі". Це історія про Мігеля Руїса, члена антифашистського руху в Іспанії, який зі своїми колегами, республіканцями й анархістами, приймав участь у визвольній операції в Парижі. Інша річ, що про них не знають ані у Франції, ані в Іспанії, що найбільш сумно. Рока показує приховану історію війни й визвольного руху, подає зовсім інший фокус, який не менш важливий із точки зору комплексного, а отже й правдивого розуміння історії. Ба більше, це не тільки вплив маленьких історій на велику історію, але й також розповідь про несподівані, але й знакові зустрічі, людську відвагу й гідність, а також самопожертву. Найбільша прикрість у тім, що ніхто потім не згадує тих відчайдушних хлопак, які, можливо, вплинули фундаментально на хід війни, але ж історію пишуть не вони.
Звісно, це також історія протистояння окремих людей і безжалісної диктатури, здатної зламати будь-які людські пориви й прагнення. Рока не оминає цього, коли зображує події в Африці. І перші глави мальопису справді вражають своєю емоційною складовою, нагадуючи "Мауса" Арта Шпіґельмана як найбільш відому оду людському духові й життєвій витримці. Правда Рока не вдається у натуралізм, не занурюється в емоційно-психологічну безодню, а працює у форматі розповіді, від дії до дії, лишаючи на периферії окремі деталі й нюанси.
Сама ж історія будується на двох паралельних рівнях: на одному Мігель Руїс спілкується із журналістом (тобто фактично автором), а на другому вже розгортаються його спогади. Цікаво, що Рока все рзмальовує в різні кольори, де минуле подається більш яскраво, чітко, а теперішнє прописане блідою приглушеною палітрою. Наскільки я зрозумів, то таким чином Рока акцентує на важливість минулого, його більший вплив на історію, ідентичність, аніж теперішнє. Притаманно, що в теперішньому герої більше говорять, тобто текст тут переважає над образом, коли в минулому все навпаки. Так чи так, в історії випадок, поворот долі відіграє чи не ключову роль. Скажімо, Мігель зустрічає дівчину на кораблі з Іспанії до Африки, з якою потім через роки зустрінеться в Парижі. Через такий же випадок він її втратить, зберігаючи в пам'яті як стару фотокартку.
Попри доволі специфічну тему для українського читача, робота Пако Рока все ж може бути цікавою для багатьох. По-перше, повстанська тема не чужа нам, адже український повстанський рух теж перебуває на марґінесі масової свідомості. Нам бракує такої перспективи на загальному національному рівні як і бракує іспанцям. Ну й крім нас ніхто цю перспективу не запропонує і не виборе. По-друге, фокус на випадковості історії, індивідуальній складовій, жертовності також може відгукнутись багатьом. Мінус у тім, що тон Рока місцями дещо монотонний, нагадує звук дощу за вікном, тому й може усипити, але потім вже й не помічаєш, як зникають одна за одною глави, лишаючи за собою дивний меланхолійний післясмак.
Звісно, це також історія протистояння окремих людей і безжалісної диктатури, здатної зламати будь-які людські пориви й прагнення. Рока не оминає цього, коли зображує події в Африці. І перші глави мальопису справді вражають своєю емоційною складовою, нагадуючи "Мауса" Арта Шпіґельмана як найбільш відому оду людському духові й життєвій витримці. Правда Рока не вдається у натуралізм, не занурюється в емоційно-психологічну безодню, а працює у форматі розповіді, від дії до дії, лишаючи на периферії окремі деталі й нюанси.
Сама ж історія будується на двох паралельних рівнях: на одному Мігель Руїс спілкується із журналістом (тобто фактично автором), а на другому вже розгортаються його спогади. Цікаво, що Рока все рзмальовує в різні кольори, де минуле подається більш яскраво, чітко, а теперішнє прописане блідою приглушеною палітрою. Наскільки я зрозумів, то таким чином Рока акцентує на важливість минулого, його більший вплив на історію, ідентичність, аніж теперішнє. Притаманно, що в теперішньому герої більше говорять, тобто текст тут переважає над образом, коли в минулому все навпаки. Так чи так, в історії випадок, поворот долі відіграє чи не ключову роль. Скажімо, Мігель зустрічає дівчину на кораблі з Іспанії до Африки, з якою потім через роки зустрінеться в Парижі. Через такий же випадок він її втратить, зберігаючи в пам'яті як стару фотокартку.
Попри доволі специфічну тему для українського читача, робота Пако Рока все ж може бути цікавою для багатьох. По-перше, повстанська тема не чужа нам, адже український повстанський рух теж перебуває на марґінесі масової свідомості. Нам бракує такої перспективи на загальному національному рівні як і бракує іспанцям. Ну й крім нас ніхто цю перспективу не запропонує і не виборе. По-друге, фокус на випадковості історії, індивідуальній складовій, жертовності також може відгукнутись багатьом. Мінус у тім, що тон Рока місцями дещо монотонний, нагадує звук дощу за вікном, тому й може усипити, але потім вже й не помічаєш, як зникають одна за одною глави, лишаючи за собою дивний меланхолійний післясмак.
September 15, 2019
An excellent graphic novel focusing on an aspect of the history of WW2 I didn’t know about - the role of Spanish republicans in liberating France. The protagonist of the story is Miguel Ruiz, now 94 and reluctantly telling his story to a young author, from fleeing Alicante in 1939 after Franco’s fascists triumphed, to hard labour in the Sahara, to joining with the Allies to march on Paris. It’s dramatic and thought-provoking stuff, culminating in the bitter disappointment of republicans as the Allies proved content to leave Franco in place. I did have a hard time telling the various soldiers apart, but it was a very interesting read. I would have liked it if the afterword said more about what aspects of the story were fictional and which were dramatizations of real events.
January 18, 2023
La forma de narrar el odio hacia el fascismo de Franco y de Hitler y sobre todo el sufrimiento que estos causaron hace que me hierva la sangre al saber que esta parte de nuestra historia ha sido silenciada.
La historia y el estilo artístico hacen una novela gráfica realista y cruda, incluso a veces llega a ser un documental sobre lo ocurrido a los exiliados españoles después de la guerra civil.
Personajes reales, de los que se pueden ver fotos buscando en Google, y que han recibido homenajes después de muertos (nunca es a tiempo, España y su fascismo histórico...)
Increíble, recomendado 100%.
La historia y el estilo artístico hacen una novela gráfica realista y cruda, incluso a veces llega a ser un documental sobre lo ocurrido a los exiliados españoles después de la guerra civil.
Personajes reales, de los que se pueden ver fotos buscando en Google, y que han recibido homenajes después de muertos (nunca es a tiempo, España y su fascismo histórico...)
Increíble, recomendado 100%.
July 4, 2023
Me ha parecido maravilloso, increíble. El mejor, más cuidadoso y justo homenaje a los españoles de la Nueve ❤
April 21, 2021
Really amazing story, and a great example of how massive, sweeping historical events and upheavals are made up of millions of little individual lives and experiences
December 17, 2024
This was completely serendipity at work. I was at the library for the first time in a long while, and I wandered over to the graphic novel section and this book caught my eye.
Roca is well known and celebrated in Spain for his graphic novels, including one he did on Alzheimer's.
This one was not only well done, but introduced me to a chapter in history that I was ignorant about. I knew about the Spanish Civil War, of course, but I had never wondered about what happened to the losing side's soldiers afterward, and that is what this book is about.
It goes back and forth between the author's interviews with an aged Spanish veteran and the veteran's recollections of what happened to those soldiers during World War II.
In this soldier's case, he first was sent to a work camp in the Sahara desert controlled by French troops loyal to the Nazi puppet regime, where he worked under brutal conditions with not enough food.
Once the Allies arrived in North Africa, the Spanish soldiers were able to join a unit of free French soldiers to go back to Europe and fight against the Nazis there.
I don't want to give away the specifics of what happens to the protagonist in this book, but it does an excellent job of showing the battle experiences as well as the personal relationships of the soldiers as they fight their way through France and into Germany. It also tells the tale of a man who has become isolated and curmudgeonly, but who, under the prompting of his young interviewer, opens up about memories that he has not shared with anyone for decades.
Finally, the novel calls attention to the way that Spanish Republican soldiers were forgotten for the role they played in the European theater, and how they were then left to deal with the bitter fact that the fascist dictator, Francisco Franco, remained in control of their nation for years and years after World War II ended.
Highly recommended
Roca is well known and celebrated in Spain for his graphic novels, including one he did on Alzheimer's.
This one was not only well done, but introduced me to a chapter in history that I was ignorant about. I knew about the Spanish Civil War, of course, but I had never wondered about what happened to the losing side's soldiers afterward, and that is what this book is about.
It goes back and forth between the author's interviews with an aged Spanish veteran and the veteran's recollections of what happened to those soldiers during World War II.
In this soldier's case, he first was sent to a work camp in the Sahara desert controlled by French troops loyal to the Nazi puppet regime, where he worked under brutal conditions with not enough food.
Once the Allies arrived in North Africa, the Spanish soldiers were able to join a unit of free French soldiers to go back to Europe and fight against the Nazis there.
I don't want to give away the specifics of what happens to the protagonist in this book, but it does an excellent job of showing the battle experiences as well as the personal relationships of the soldiers as they fight their way through France and into Germany. It also tells the tale of a man who has become isolated and curmudgeonly, but who, under the prompting of his young interviewer, opens up about memories that he has not shared with anyone for decades.
Finally, the novel calls attention to the way that Spanish Republican soldiers were forgotten for the role they played in the European theater, and how they were then left to deal with the bitter fact that the fascist dictator, Francisco Franco, remained in control of their nation for years and years after World War II ended.
Highly recommended
January 25, 2023
4,5/5 Lektura w ramach tygodnia hiszpańskiego - akcji Natalii z kanału kursywa
Trzeci przeczytany przeze mnie komiks tego autora i trzeci znakomity.
Co prawda gdybym miała je uszeregować od najlepszego to ten byłby na trzecim miejscu ale i tak jest świetny
Paco Roca w komiksach daje miejsce zwyczajnym ludziom. Ocala Ich losy od zapomnienia Robi to z szacunkiem, dbałością o szczegóły, robi to w sposób który mnie wzrusza
Trzeci przeczytany przeze mnie komiks tego autora i trzeci znakomity.
Co prawda gdybym miała je uszeregować od najlepszego to ten byłby na trzecim miejscu ale i tak jest świetny
Paco Roca w komiksach daje miejsce zwyczajnym ludziom. Ocala Ich losy od zapomnienia Robi to z szacunkiem, dbałością o szczegóły, robi to w sposób który mnie wzrusza
July 30, 2023
Una memoria sobre la participación de los republicanos españoles en varios frentes de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Paco Roca vuelve a deslumbrar en lo narrativo y en el dibujo, logrando una obra notable.
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