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A tense, lyrical novel of life on the run in Franco's Spain that offers a bold, timeless challenge against fascism and authoritarianism. FOR FANS OF
ROGUE MALE A literary thriller full of action and dramatic landscapes, and the first novel to break the national pact of silence after Francisco Franco's death.
1937. Having lost the Civil War in Spain, four republican soldiers lead a fugitive existence deep in the Cantabrian mountains. They are on the run, skirmishing with Franco's soldiers, knowing that surrender means execution. Wounded and hungry, the hold-outs are drawn from the safety of the mountains into the villages they once inhabited, not only risking their lives but also the lives of anyone caught helping them. Trapped in the lonely mountains, with their harsh winters and unforgiving summers, it is only a matter of time before the Fascists hunt them down.
Living in caves, barely surviving on scraps provided by the villagers they dare to make contact with, Ángel and his friends are tortured by heat, cold, damp, hunger and above all, fear - fear for themselves, and for those still willing to help them. And if they do survive, what kind of country will there be left to live in?
First published in 1985,
Wolf Moon was the first novel to break with the Pacto de Olvido, a political and cultural amnesty in Spain, following Franco's death in 1975, which provided cover for the regime's supporters. Brimming with tension and violence, it is a testament to enduring loyalty: to a cause, to justice, and to brothers-in-arms.
About the author
Julio Llamazares (b. 1955) is a poet, novelist, essayist, journalist and screenwriter, whose work has been translated into over twenty languages. He has twice been a finalist for Spain's National Literature Prize, for
Wolf Moon (1985) and
The Yellow Rain (1988).
Simon Deefholts and
Kathryn Phillips-Miles both studied Romance Languages and Literature at University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, and later at Birkbeck College, University of London. They live and work in Spain, where they have together translated several novels and plays.
