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2000s and back to 1930s: A journey in the search of a birthday lost and into the heart and soul of a country.
Alberto’s Lost Birthday
What you need to know before your trail
A little boy and his grandfather embark on a quest to find the old man’s missing birthday in Diana Rosie’s debut novel, Alberto’s Lost Birthday.
Alberto is old. But imagine if you’re old and don’t know how old you are? He has memories of his past but the earliest one is of the day he arrived at an orphanage during the Spanish Civil War.
When his seven year old grandson discovers this, he immediately wants to find out the exact day so that his grandfather may finally have a special day of his own to open presents, receive a card, a cake of his own
So the two set out to find Alberto’s birthday.
Their search for the old man’s memories takes them deep into the heart of Spain. This is a country trying to forget its painful past whilst Alberto is trying to remember his. What Alberto finds however is a lot more than he expected
Travel Guide
A lovely and poignant journey deep into the heart of Spain. There are no place names as such but this is quite clearly a story into Spain’s past, its heart and soul as well as its civil war.
From the early days of Alberto’s life, you get to travel with him on quite literally a journey of discovery. Back to the horrors of the Spanish Civil war of 1930s Spain and then across time to the present day. The country changes before your eyes and the true horrors of the Spanish Civl war come to light.
It wasn’t that simple. It was a fight between the rich and the poor. Between people who believed in God and people who didn’t. Between people who wanted to do things in the traditional way and those who wanted to be more modern”
In the present day, Alberto tends to his lemons and during the flashbacks, you are transported to rural Spain where the story starts. Lemons and olives in the air, what should be idyllic quickly becomes horror for so many people. War is destructive and horrific on so many levels but seen through the eyes of a child, incredibly more so.
Booktrailer Review
Susan:@thebooktrailer
What a charming story! Sad but meaningful on so many levels
I love the era of the Spanish Civil war having studied it at uni but each time I read a book like this i discover a little more – the human angle and the effect it had on the man on the street. This is a story more of the relationship between the grandfather and the young boy but it’s also a delve into the country’s history as well as the old mans and the search for a birthday and a lost soul in every sense of the word.
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: Alberto’s Lost Birthday
Author/Guide: Diana Rosie Destination: Spain Departure Time: 2000s – back to 1930s
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