Golden Earrings

Author/Guide: Belinda Alexandra

Why a Booktrail?

1930s and 1970s : See Barcelona and Paris come alive in this captivating story – Barcelona before the Civil War, and Paris in the 1970s.

ISBN: 978-0857208880
Genre: Fiction, Ghost/supernatural, Mystery

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What you need to know before your trail

Paloma Batton is the granddaughter of Spanish refugees who fled Barcelona after the Civil War. She’s a student at the School of the Paris Opera Ballet and takes her work very seriously. However one day she is visited by a ghost who leaves her a pair of golden earrings.

Wondering why she has been given such an object of beauty, she looks into the origin of the earrings and so starts her quest within her own Spanish heritage. The ghost who visited her seems to have been related in some way to a woman known as ‘la Rusa’ who despite a early life in poverty was to become one of the greatest flamenco dancers of her day.

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Travel Guide

Enter the world of the Paris Ballet and the world of Flamenco in sumptuous detail. See how the granddaughter of Spanish refugees, who fled Barcelona after the Civil War, Paloma Batton becomes an attentive student of the Paris Opera Ballet, where her world becomes one of dancing, flamenco and a lot of history. History of the country and its war, history of one woman and her family and a mysterious flamenco dancer called la Rusa. Paloma is visited by a ghost in the theatre which sets her off on a trail..

War

This is the Spain of Franco and his army ascending to their ultimate level of power. What a Spain this is. Brutal and shocking, where refuge of any kind is welcome.

The worlds of war and dance could not be more different yet this mix provides a unique view of one country and its people. The passion, the pain and the heritage involved with each of them is so different yet very evocative and illustrative of time and place. The war left many scars and this novel shows and evokes in painful detail the extent that they overshadow the ferocity of Spain’s civil war and the ways in which it affected its population.

Flamenco dancing

Paloma’s exploration of her Spanish heritage, links the worlds of history and dance again. The world of dance is outstanding in its detail and complexity. It reveals and evokes so much of the culture and traditions of the time. However, it’s the sumptuous complexity that draws you in, the sights, sounds and smells of this world- dance is emotional, artistic, technical and a skill of so many Spanish women and a refuge of sorts from the war.

Booktrailer Review

Susan @thebooktrailer

There are so many reasons I loved this novel. The dual time periods and the various voices of the story blend seamlessly together for one and the writing is just lovely. I enjoyed this novel on many levels as it was a story on so many levels – about two women and their search for something, some answers. The links between past and present were wonderfully woven and wrapped up and I thought it was very interesting to become so immersed in the world of dance and to be led on a journey with a pair of golden earrings as the clue to the past.

I learned a lot about the Civil War too and it was humbling to read in parts. This really is a novel to savour and is like peeking into such a fascinating world I didn’t want to leave.