No Greater Love

Behind prison bars Jose Martinez watches his fellow Republican comrades forced into a bullring and machine-gunned to death in the first days of the Spanish civil war. He wonders why his life was spared -- or are the victorious soldiers of the Nationalist Army preparing a fate even worse for him? Decades in the making the political and religious clash between progressive and conservative Spaniards has turned deadly.<p> Like all civil wars this one tears apart Jose's family as well as the nation. Into the maelstrom comes sibling jealousy disputes over beliefs aggrieved betrayal and simple lust -- all threatening the togetherness of a family. Added to this turmoil is the dying innocent request of Jose's mother for him to make a spiritual pilgrimage for her to Santiago de Compostela -- but at what cost?<p> While this story is a work of fiction it reflects real events that happen to real people. The novel is intended for an American audience who share with the Spanish the memory of a civil war in their historical background. The cultural conflicts that gripped Spain three-quarters of a century ago find similar echoes in the present day political environment of the United States.