⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5 stars)
Madrid, 1934. Bárbara, a young German woman fleeing the rise of Nazism, opens a small bookstore in Spain—a sanctuary for dreamers as political tensions mount. When the Spanish Civil War erupts, her bookshop becomes a fragile refuge for hope and love, even as hatred threatens to consume the country. Her passion for literature and her relationship with a young Republican keep her fighting for a future built on words instead of war.
Mario Escobar’s research is excellent, and I appreciated the Spanish Civil War setting—a refreshing departure from the many WWII novels I’ve read. The story’s message about the power of books and human resilience is uplifting. Still, A Bookseller in Madrid didn’t fully land for me. It leans too heavily into politics, occasionally feels anti-Christian, and the dialogue includes modern idioms that jarred me out of the 1930s (“Eureka!” really?).
The characters could have been more deeply drawn, and several scenes cried out for tighter editing—I often wanted to pick up my red pencil. I alternated between the eBook and audiobook, and the narrator deserves high marks for bringing emotion and atmosphere to an uneven but interesting read.
** Thanks to Harper Collins Focus and Harper Muse Audiobooks for complimentary review copies. Opinions are my own.