Nonfiction: The Age of Disenchantments by Aaron Shulman

Finally! I carved out time to read Aaron Shulman's The Age of Disenchantments: The Epic Story of Spain's Most Notorious Literary Family and the Long Shadow of the Spanish Civil War. Shulman is another author whose talk I managed to miss out on at the 7th Annual San Antonio Book Festival, but I did manage to snag a book and get it signed. What drew me to the book was the idea of learning not only about one of Spain's literary families, but also about the Spanish Civil War and how the country has come to be what it is today.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a nonfiction book that opens with the death of Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, who was assassinated in 1936 for his left-wing sympathies and outspoken support of socialism. From there, Shulman covers not only the entire Spanish Civil War and the years that follow, but also the lives and many trials - and some triumphs - of the Panero family. Against the backdrop of the war, Shulman tells the family's story with incredible detail, highlighting the complications of marriage and family life, as well as the issues that arise when attempting to choose a side as the country you live in is being torn apart. Leopoldo Panero's decision would of course influence his poetry, causing readers to view his work in a certain light for years to come.

The title of the book comes from a documentary that was made of the family in 1976, The Disenchantment, which included personal interviews from the wife and three sons of Leopoldo, 14 years after the poet's death. While many would regard the documentary as a masterpiece, others would more or less see it as an exposé, with Felicidad, Leopoldo's wife, using her interviews as a time to settle old scores and air dirty laundry, not only about her late husband, but about certain friends and family. Even Leopoldo's three sons, Juan Luis, Leopoldo María, and José Moisés, or "Michi," would reveal and speak of things that some believe should have been kept within the family. But something the film seemed to do was link the fate of the Paneros with the story of Spain, as the country attempted to reconcile itself with its tumultuous past.

My verdict: If I am going to read about a war, this is the way I want to do it. Shulman's book is first and foremost an exploration of the literary Panero family, but it is also, pretty much in equal measure, about the Spanish Civil War. In a move that marries the two subjects beautifully, Shulman presents them both as they progressed through the years. Of course, it helps tremendously that Leopoldo Panero became connected to the dictatorship that would run the country for nearly 40 years. Even so, there is always potential for the presentation of historical events like these to be boring, but Shulman manages to present the facts, of both the country and the family, and keep it all incredibly interesting. What is also impressive, and obvious, is the amount of research and work Shulman put into this project in order to get the kind of detail he was able to present.

Favorite Moment: Michi's questioning of his oldest brother as to whether or not it was possible that the great Panero legacy would end with them.

Recommended Reading: I feel like I don't recommend Don Quixote enough, so I am recommending it now.