Most of The Fountains of Silence takes place in 1957 in Madrid. The setting was vivid, and one of my favorite aspects. This was the time when Franco was the supreme dictator of Spain, but the United States was beginning to establish more of a positive relationship with that country. Daniel is from Texas, visiting Madrid with his mother and father while his dad tries to make oil deals with Spain. Ana is a maid at the hotel where they are staying.
Daniel and Ana begin a relationship that, while charming, has all the makings of a disaster. Daniel is a photographer and meets some people who can help him with his goal to win a prize to attend journalism school. He takes pictures, some controversial, of Madrid. There are secrets that Ana wants to keep from Daniel, in particular how destitute her family is. But Daniel manages to crack the facade and dig into her real life.
The story brings to light the plight of those in Spain who fought against Franco. It has come to light (fairly recently) that thousands of children were taken from their Republican parents after birth and given up for adoption. The parents were told their babies had died. The Fountains of Silence tells this story in a way that young people can relate to. The author includes helpful factual information at the end of the book.
At over 500 pages, I thought The Fountains of Silence moved really slowly. This may partly be because I listened to the audiobook, and only in small bits at a time. The narrator's (Maite Jáuregui) Spanish heritage lent authenticity to the story, and she was easy to understand, even if I found the emphasis of some words and phrases to be off.
Sepetys' trademark is finding obscure but very interesting bits of history and weaving interesting people and settings around that theme. She has accomplished this in The Fountains of Silence.
