Comrades - Hardcover

Mary Byrnes, an American photojournalist covering the Spanish Civil War, falls in love with anarchist Nicholas Cardon. The Nazis are aiding Franco and fighting the Communists, and Nicolas's partisans are against them all. Who is on what side is a bit difficult to decipher at first, as multiple characters are introduced but not fully delineated. Most remain shadowy stereotypes. There is lots of movement; Cardon and Mary seldom stay still for long, running from one battle to the next, traveling to America to raise funds or purchase weapons. Irving chops his scenes in half by inserting other events in the middle, resulting in a flow that stops before it really gets started. Overall, an average novel, but readers won't care very much what happens. Andrea Lee Shuey, Dallas P.L.
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