Lord of All the Dead: A nonfiction novel

Product Description

From the internationally renowned author of The Impostor, a courageous journey into his own family history and that of a country collapsing from a fratricidal war–his most moving, most personal book, one he has spent his entire life preparing to write.

Javier Cercas grew up hearing the legend of his adored great-uncle Manuel Mena, who died at nineteen in the bloodiest battle of the Spanish Civil War–while fighting for Franco’s army. Who was this young man? A fascist hero whose memory is an embarrassment or a committed idealist who happened to fall on the wrong side of history? Is it possible to be a moral person defending an immoral cause? Through visits back to his parents’ village in southern Spain, interviews with survivors, and research into the murkiest corners of the war, the author pieces together the life of this enigmatic figure and of an entire generation. This sui generis work combines intimate family history, investigative scholarship, personal confession, war stories, and road trips, finally becoming a transcendent portrait of a country’s indelible scars–a book about heroism, death, the persistence of the past, and the meaning of an individual life against the tapestry of history.

Review

“Cercas keeps his readers curious to the end, and
Lord of All the Dead is arguably even more important than its predecessor [
Soldiers of Salamis] as a contribution to healing the wounds that remain open in Spain to this day.” 
—John Hooper, New York Times Book Review

“Powerful . . . Painted with vivid and arresting specificity . . .
Lord of All the Dead will neither flatter liberal pieties nor assuage feelings of collective guilt. It may help Spaniards, and people farther afield, to better understand the lure of Fascism, a pressing task in today’s world. Franco is still dead, but the need to monitor his condition has never been more urgent.” 
—Giles Harvey, The New Yorker

“A remarkable act of personal history: brave, revelatory and unflinchingly honest.” 
—William Boyd  “A book of reportage through which the dead walk with all the vibrancy of the living . . . Fact-based but also imaginative . . . A meditation about personal history and family history, as well as an interrogation about whether it is ever possible to truly escape the past.”
—Elliot Ackerman, The Wall Street Journal “In corona-isolation, I picked up 
Lord of All the Dead, thinking I would read a page or two. I couldn’t put the book down . . . It is unlike anything else: strangely original . . . And marvelously written . . . And may I say that, in reading about riven Spain, I thought about riven America? I mean, America at present? . . . When he was at last able to tell Manuel Mena’s story—and by extension, his own—Cercas felt a sense of euphoria. So did I, on merely reading the book . . . A major achievement, in historical, literary, and moral terms.”
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review“Remarkable . . . I fell into this dream-like experience of reading this gorgeous book over two days. I could not put it down . . . I just loved this book. It’s beautifully written. It’s reportage as well as a deep emotional connection to the time and to the people of this small town.” 
—Bill Goldstein, NBC Weekend Today in New York

“Magnificent . . . Cercas is a marvelous writer, and his character studies of the elusive Mena are masterly. Ultimately, grappling with the enormously nuanced, continuing story of sacrifice, passion, and dishonor allowed for significant forgiveness and release. A beautiful, moving story that must have been extremely difficult for the author to write. Thankfully for readers, he persisted.” 
—Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“Cleverly crafted.” 
—Publishers Weekly (starred)
“A fascinating, complicated portrait of a young soldier driven to action by the crises of his time.” 
—Booklist 

“Cercas reconstructs a life with a novelist’s finesse.” 
—Library Journal

“Cercas plays fast and loose with time, history, and memory in all of his sp