DEATH OF A NATIONALIST

This convoluted story is set in 1939 Madrid at the end of the Spanish Civil War as Franco takes the reins of government. In this bloody period of Spain’s history, the Nationalists hunt Republicans as loyalty and honor vie with violence and the drive for power. The action begins with Sergeant Tejada Alonzo y Leon of the Guardia Civil shooting an unknown woman who is kneeling next to a dead Guardia as she retrieves her niece's school notebook. Elizabeth Klett narrates with a soft, uninflected American accent. She pronounces Spanish names and places in a seemingly flawless accent. But the overall sameness of her delivery becomes monotonous, making the tangled threads of the plot difficult to follow and the characters impossible to differentiate. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2011]