Official Review: Badajoz by Mike de Val

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Kibet Hillary
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Official Review: Badajoz by Mike de Val

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[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Badajoz" by Mike de Val.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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“They are taking us back to Badajoz, I heard them say?” he hesitated for a moment wincing with pain then added, “we are dead meat.”

Gordon Stone is a retired teacher in his late sixties. He has been married to Emily for the past forty years, and they have one son called John. Gordon refuses to acknowledge that he is aging because society’s treatment of the old is unfair. Moreover, he has come to terms with the fact that the reality of growing old happens in the third person, the other, while the first person is a perpetually twenty or thirty-year-old gazer. What impact does this perspective reflect on his relationship with his wife? Will Gordon finally face the reality that he is growing old?

Gordon, since his retirement, has been leading a routine lifestyle. However, things change one day when he decides to take a DNA test for his ancestry. What he discovers will soon force him out of his comfort zone to a journey of self-discovery. He had been reading in the library about the ability of human beings to metamorphose into beings like wolves and other animals. This book takes one on an emotional journey with Gordon. You will be led down a less trodden path where the cruelest part of humanity is unveiled right before your eyes during the Spanish Civil War, especially in Badajoz.

Badajoz was authored by Mike de Val and published in 2019. The book falls under the genre of historical fiction. It is 353 pages long and contains nine chapters. The chronicling shifts between Gordon’s story and journey in the present and the events during and after the Spanish Civil War. The themes addressed in the book include war, family, aging, loss, torture, betrayal, and health.

This is a gripping tale about the horrors of war. The author masterfully employed various linguistic devices to produce a memorable story. Vivid description was used so effectively that while reading this book my mind couldn’t resist creating mental images and transporting me to various scenes. I felt as if I was in prison suffering at the hands of cruel soldiers and militia together with those who had been imprisoned. A lot of tension also rose as many prisoners waited anxiously for the unexpected day when someone would denounce them, and they would be instantly executed like their counterparts. These gory scenes proved human beings can as well be brutal and savage beasts. Nevertheless, the present state of affairs in the story and the optimism the prisoners had for liberty were enough to keep the flame of hope blazing.

There are many things that I liked in the book. To begin with, it was extremely informative concerning the Spanish Civil War. I knew little before reading the book, but I was able to learn a lot and the desire to learn more was instilled too. I also enjoyed the vivid descriptions. The author was able to effectively communicate the horrors of the war that many have forgotten or may be unaware of. The suspense was also generated and sustained throughout the book. The twists and turns and the thrilling effects they had cannot be understated.

Editing was fairly done since I discovered a few grammatical errors. There were also some phrases that were repeated. They did not appear many times in the book, but I disliked the repetition. I guess this is a matter of personal preference, though, since they did not detract from the general enjoyment of the book. Some knots were also not tied eventually, and I felt the ending was rushed too. Therefore, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to all fans of historical fiction books. Readers who are averse to gory scenes may steer clear of this one.

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Badajoz
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Post by That Reviewer »

This is a forever-young kind of story. I think at some point, Gordon will realize he's getting old.
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Post by Nisha Ward »

That Gordon can find himself on a journey even at his age speaks to age being a matter of mind, mostly. I do wonder which side of the Spanish War his ancestry fell on because there are some horrifying aspects to all possibilities there.
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