The author, also a poet and essayist, transports the reader into the public and private life of José Almoina, a Republican exile whose story she discovered by chance in a bookstore in the Dominican Republic. Millares deeply engages with the protagonist to bring the reader closer to the emotional state of a Spanish family marked by fascism and the pursuit of peace.
The novel reconstructs the trajectory of Almoina, who risked his life by publishing ‘Una satrapía en el Caribe’, a denunciation against the dictator Trujillo. Millares emphasizes the importance of recovering his memory, countering the 'black legend' that his enemies tried to perpetuate. The work explores the fragility of democracies and the rise of authoritarianism, themes the author considers highly relevant today.
“"The novel is a territory of freedom. I decided to seek the approval of his family, out of pure respect, and I sent the finished novel to his daughter Leticia."
Millares portrays Almoina as a representative of a 'third Spain' thrust into personal tragedy, an Erasmian idealist whose absolute peace contrasted with the polarized violence of the era. The novel not only narrates the physical devastation of the war but also its psychological aftermath, weaving a family fortress against relentless adversity.
The author points out a literary imbalance between the attention given to the Civil War and the neglect of exile, a universal archetype of a broken family that she compares to the odyssey of Ulysses. Millares, with island roots, advocates for an Atlantic perspective against a peninsular narrative often focused inward.
The novel also addresses Almoina's complex relationship with dictator Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, exploring the reasons behind his forced proximity and his steadfast principles, influenced by Freemasonry. It questions the myth of Almoina as a mere informant, highlighting his sacrifice to save his life and those of his loved ones.
Millares describes Republican exile as a 'strange hornet's nest' of hatreds and miseries, but also of nobility in figures like Negrín or Juan Chabás. The infiltration of Francoist and American espionage added complexity to this period, the consequences of which are reflected in the book.
The work evokes three exiled Canarians, including the author's great-uncle, Agustín Millares Carló, a paleographer and professor. The convergence of their names at the same publishing house where Almoina collaborated fascinated Millares, confirmed by Almoina's daughter, Leticia.
The masterful depiction of the megalomania and perversity of the satrap Trujillo and his wife María is achieved through a classical and Cervantean approach, focusing on the intelligence and pragmatic realism of the protagonists, Almoina and Pilar, in the face of adversity.
Despite the terrible stories it recounts, the novel offers space for hope, love, and faith in the future. Millares emphasizes that to resist is to conquer, and that ideas, sheltered in books, transcend life, keeping alive the legacy of those who fought against tyranny.
