Arturo Barea's Forging a Rebel has not been given enough praise. While it has been recommended by Orwell and has been compared to Tolstoy's War and Peace, many people acquainted with Spanish History and/or literature have not yet heard of this remarkable cannon of works.
Barea's book encompasses many things. It is first an autobiography, a personal account of Spain through the eyes of a child, a soldier, and a man. Yet within this account the writer tells a story that is both beautiful and informative in it's breadth, poetically weaving the sight's, sounds and smells of the lands, the customs, and the people, within a social and political atmosphere that was Spain.
Beginning in the early 1900's, through the second Moroccan War, to the inevitability of the Republic, with a finale of the Civil War in Spain, Forging a Rebel paints an unforgettable account of a country that inspired thousands from around the world to rally for it's cause in the 1930s.
But what is most extraordinary about this brilliant novel, is the passion in which it is written. It is a book that the reader can relate to, despite it's being written half a century ago. Timeless tales of the tyrannies of hierarchy, abuses of labor, innocence of childhood, struggles for freedom, and the corruption of power, are woven throughout this trilogy, enabling the reader connect to his story and the stories of his people. When you read Barea's book you feel as though you are in Madrid and Morocco, drinking the wine, smelling the food, watching the endless mosaic of people that make up Spain.
For anyone interested in Spain, the Spanish Civil War or even just brilliant literature, buy this book, it deserves to be read.