Dime quién soy (Vintage Español) is the latest novel by Spanish author Julia Navarro. The story is peppered with intrigue, politics, espionage, travels, love, betrayal and plenty of historical research. These are the main ingredients of the novel. With solid narrative skill, Navarro goes over the most significant events of the last century: the years of the Second Spanish Republic, Stalin’s Russia, the advent of Hitler, World War II, the Cold War, and the fall of the Berlin Wall (“the wall of shame.”)
The novel begins when Guillermo, an unemployed journalist and literary critic for an online newspaper, receives a tempting offer that, in lean times and labor unrest, he simply cannot refuse. His wealthy aunt, Marta, entrusts him with a very special assignment: to solve the puzzle of an old family history in connection with his long-missing great-grandmother, Amelia Garayoa (Marta’s grandmother), from which his family knows nothing or very little about. In fact, the mysterious character is a taboo subject among the family. What they do know is that before the Spanish Civil War she fled Spain with her lover, presumably an Argentinean sailor, abandoning her husband and newborn son.
Guillermo is the leading voice in the story. He guides us through the many cities in Europe and America where the story takes place, and the characters that will gradually reveal the identity of Amelia Garayoa, indeed an unconventional woman for her time. There is Edurne, Amelia’s loyal maid; Laura, her favorite cousin; Pablo Soler, the history professor; Francesca Venezziani, the biographer of Carla Alessandrini, the Italian diva of bel canto and Amelia’s friend and protector. There are also the men, so different from each other that left a mark in Amelia’s life: businessman Santiago Carranza, revolutionary Pierre Comte, American journalist Albert James and Max von Schumann, a military doctor with ties to Nazism.
Although the novel travels through a wide range of historical events, still it manages to be entertaining while being informative. Readers will find this to be an exciting adventure with unforgettable characters whose lives paint a magnificent portrait of the 20th century.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Journalist Julia Navarro was born in Madrid in 1953. Throughout her career she has worked in print, radio, and television. Navarro is the author of several books on political affairs: Nosotros, la transición; Entre Felipe y Aznar; La izquierda que viene, and Señora presidenta.Her first opus, La Hermandad de la Sábana Santa, was a great success in Spain and abroad. With La Biblia de barro and La sangre de los inocentes she cemented her name among critics and audiences alike. Her books have been published in more than thirty countries, including; Italy, Germany, Portugal, Russia, Korea, Japan, China, Great Britain and the United States. Among her many awards are: Premio Qué Leer 2004, VIII Premio de los lectores de Crisol and, Premio Ciudad de Cartagena 2004.
