Slow Lightning

John Walker is a professor of Spanish at Queen’s University.

As this fascinating novel about the Spanish Civil War opens, it is 1936
and General Franco has overthrown the Republican government. Sandro
Risco Canovas is an apolitical engineering student who—thanks to the
Republican affiliations of his girlfriend, Teresa, and friend
Jorge—finds himself on a blacklist that compels him to flee Barcelona.
Disguised as a priest making a sacred pilgrimage to Santiago de
Compostela, Sandro encounters many different characters who represent
various levels of Spanish society. At his home village of Arcasella, he
hides in caves and sets off a chain of events that are rooted in
Spain’s cultural past. Interspersed throughout Sandro’s many
adventures are his love letters to Teresa. This picaresque thriller
offers important commentary on both the tragedy of war and the role of
ancient art in the modern world.