The night the Beatles arrived in Barcelona by Alfons Cervera

Review of the book “The night the Beatles arrived in Barcelona” by Alfons Cervera.

“The night the Beatles arrived in Barcelona” is a novel by writer Alfons Cervera that transports the reader to Barcelona in the 1960s, where a group of teenage friends is preparing for the concert that the Beatles will give in the city. The story is told from the perspective of Jaime, one of the friends, who recounts the events of that unforgettable night.

The Night the Beatles Arrived in Barcelona, ​​by Alfons Cervera, is a novel that narrates two parallel and contrasting realities: that of music and the joy of the fans who attended the concert of the Liverpool Four in the Plaza Monumental in Barcelona. on July 3, 1965, and that of the violence and terror of the young people who were detained and tortured in the basements of the Via Laietana police station by the Franco regime.

The novel is structured in twelve chapters, each one dedicated to one of the songs that the Beatles performed that night: Twist and Shout, She’s a Woman, I’m a Loser, Can’t Buy Me Love, Baby’s in Black, I Wanna Be Your Man, A Hard Day’s Night, Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby, Rock and Roll Music, I Feel Fine, Ticket to Ride and Long Tall Sally. Each chapter alternates the voices of different characters: the two friends who leave the town of Los Yesares to see the Beatles and end up in the hands of the police; Sergeant Billy the Kid, one of the regime’s most bloodthirsty torturers; the girl from last summer in the Tropical Terrace, who awaits the protagonist in Barcelona; the father of the protagonist, a former republican fighter who lives tormented by the past; and Alfons Cervera himself, who is introduced as a narrator and witness of that time.

The novel is a tribute to the music of the Beatles and to the youth who were looking for a space of freedom and rebellion in a gray and oppressive society. At the same time, it is a denunciation of the brutality of Franco’s regime and the impunity with which it acted for decades. The novel also reflects on the role of memory and literature to rescue the stories of the victims and the defeated from oblivion and silence. The novel is an exercise in imagination and commitment to historical and human truth.

The novel portrays a very interesting time in the history of Spain, marked by the Franco dictatorship and the beginning of cultural and social opening. In this context, British music and culture become a window to the world for the young people of the time, as is the case of Jaime and his friends.

The book is full of cultural references of the time, from the music of the Beatles and other groups of the time, to films and television series. The way the author describes the city of Barcelona in the 1960s is vivid and evocative, transporting us to a time when anything was possible and the world was full of promise.

Cervera’s narration is fluid and emotional, which makes the reader feel part of the story and identify with the characters. The characters are well constructed and each has their own personality and motivations, giving them realistic depth.

In short, “The Night the Beatles Arrived in Barcelona” is a nostalgic and emotional novel that transports us to a time of change and hope. The author manages to capture the spirit of the time and create a story that moves and entertains in equal measure. It is a novel that we especially recommend to lovers of the music and culture of the 60s, as well as to those looking for an emotional and evocative story.