No Pasarán!: Writings from the Spanish Civil War

by Pete Ayrton

From the homefront to the heat of battle, the first truly international Spanish Civil War anthology.Hope, resignation, despair, sadness, humor, confusion, ruthlessness, compassion, kindness, generosity and love inhabit Pete Ayrton's anthology of writings from the Spanish Civil there is little sense of triumphalism among the bewilderingly diverse Republican and Nationalist coalitions, all shades of which are represented here. Previous collections privileged the writings of the International Brigades over those of the Spanish, sometimes excluding them altogether. ¡No Pasarán! corrects the by far the largest contingent of its thirty five writers are Spanish, including Luis Buñuel, Manuel Rivas, Javier Cercas, Arturo Barea, Joan Sales, and Chaves Nogales. The other writers offer contrasting perspectives of participants in the conflict from America (among them John Dos Passos, Muriel Rukeyser and Langston Hughes); Italy (Curzio Malaparte and Leonardo Sciascia); France (Jean-Paul Sartre and André Malraux); Germany (Gustav Regler); Russian (Victor Serge), Great Britain (including Arthur Koestler, George Orwell and Laurie Lee), Cuba, Argentina, and Mexico. Acclaimed editor Pete Ayrton brings together hauntingly vivid stories from a bitterly fought war. This is writing of a high order that allows the reader to witness life from the front lines of this momentous conflict.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Spain, Spanish Civil War, War, Politics, Civil War

393 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 6, 2016

Reviews

[Phillip Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a panorama of stories of the Spanish Civil War by famous and obscure writers giving us many perspectives on the conflict. The Spanish Republic was a democratically elected government that wanted the people to rule but was opposed by a small minority of rich people who opposed it. The book vividly takes the reader into the world of the Spanish Civil War with the esprit de corps of the Republic's defenders and the suffering that civilians faced. I did not like how the Soviet Union tried to take over Spain through their proxies in the republic or the lack of fascist perspectives. Overall their are many great writers in the book and it is a great resource for scholars of the war.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories from both sides of the Spanish Civil War. A really good selection with very different writing in each story. Some famous authors are included amongst the stories giving a front line view of some of the issues and complexities of this brutal war.

[T. Frohock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poignant and moving set of essays and stories from the Spanish Civil War.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

from the Introduction:

"But the worst side to the wars is the fact that they are turned into novels; at the end of this war--and I assure you it's a war as shitty as any--novels will be written that are especially stupid, as sentimental and risque as they come: they'll have wonderfully courageous young heroes and wonderfully buxom young angels... Foreigners will turn this huge mess into stirring stories of bullfighters and gypsies."
(From "Uncertain Glory" by Catalan author Joan Sales.)

[Rebecca Sutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great selection of writings from various sources about the Spanish Civil War. All the authors have some experience fighting or participating in the civil war. There are fiction and non-fiction and while most of the authors were on the Republic (left-wing) side there are some pieces by writers who supported Franco. There are authors like Orwell, Dos Passos, and Laurie Lee, but there are many writers, especially from Spain and France, that I had never heard of yet read, so that was great for me.
Overall a 3.5 from me.

[Aaron VanAlstine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Spanish Civil War generated a huge body of literature, perhaps even more than World War II. This collection is uneven—probably because most of the stories are translated into English. “The Moors Return to Spain” and “The Traitor” stand out as the most compelling entries. Interestingly, the latter is set entirely in Finland.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

After having reread Voices Of Tyranny, I bought this book wanting more. These writings are by men who had fought on both sides in the Spanish Civil War and later wrote about either in memoirs, articles, or fiction. This is a collection of passionate feelings, and I was blown away by it.

[Simon Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Panoramic is scope, its a perfect blend of modern and contemporary, fiction and nonfiction. If some of the pieces are less engaging than others, the anthology as a whole is nevertheless exceptional.

[Esme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice collection of essays that aren't purely from American/British writers. Impressive range of translations. Maybe controversial ?? but much preferred this to Homage to Catalonia.

[Andrea Tomé · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Paul Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the equal of No Man's Land but a revealing collection of essays on the Spanish Civil War. Although including stories from both sides of the conflict (as if one could simplify it to that extent) there are more accounts of the Republican's triumphs (few), tragedies and privations. The book does however convey the chaos, fickleness and grimness of this oft forgotten conflict that took place in the shadow of the Nazis' bid for global hegemony.