‘Vae Victis’ by Francisco Sánchez, among the best uchrony novels.

The reason for this historical fiction novel, uchronic, Oh of Francisco SanchezI find it very suggestive: What would happen if Spain had entered World War II? The hypotheses that propose alternative scenarios about critical periods in our history are juicy and attractive and, although entering into a war is not a palatable dish for anyone, deliberating on what its consequences could have been opens up a whole field of possibilities. Imaginary, fictitious, but Isn’t fiction also a way of doing poetic justice? Will Francisco Sánchez do it in his Oh?

Let’s start with the title, this Latin sentence expressed by the Gallic chief Brennus once the city of Rome was besieged and defeated. It is an expression that is usually used to show the helplessness of the defeated before the winner and that gives us clues as to where the shots in Sánchez’s historical novel may go. I must admit that when I only knew the title of this work, he thought that it would deal with some Roman period, but on the back of the book they already tell us that no, that it refers to a period closer to our days: World War II.

World War II together with the Spanish Civil War is a period in high demand by our publishing industry, so Oh would fall into the editorial standards of the moment contributing something new to them: a turn of events. With close, entertaining and very careful prose, which does not dispense with rhetorical figures (without fear of success), Francisco Sánchez makes us travel through different scenarios of our country while the monsters loom over our shoulders: Nazism and the already established Francoism .

One of the things I liked most about Oh has been your customs. In the novel not only do more or less well-known historical figures appear, as well as war and political strategies, but also ordinary people who lived that time. This custom is reflected from the few minutes of calm of a guerrilla observing the cold dawn among the mountains in the region of La Cabrera to the anguish of a maid who is called to the barracks for suspicious behavior. They are also described very unfair scenes that portray an entire era: having to point out innocent people who would go straight to the scaffold to save your ass, suffering rape and humiliation, inert bodies in a ditch…

The historical facts are rigorous even when Francisco Sánchez decides to give them a twist. In fact, Oh It begins with the meeting in Hendaye between Hitler and Franco after which it is declared that Spain was not entering the war (yet). Our novel also places a lot of emphasis on the English performances, as they will be the key to the fictional future of this literary work that is so well constructed. And it is right here, where the official and unofficial history (the one provided by Sánchez) diverge, when I most appreciate the precision and documentation that the author has carried out so that what is going to happen seems plausible to us. Now the war begins.

It is worth noting, because historical novels sometimes lack this topic, that in Oh also the role of women is highlighted. Special attention to Arantxa, who perhaps I would have liked to have appeared more in the work, but who we know from the first pages and, from there, to many others who, even with more silent roles in the plot, are brave and do An incredible job in a tough time.

Oh of Francisco Sanchez It is a delight for history lovers because it is a uchronia, an alternative historical fiction, full of twists, rhythm and historical rigor (as far as possible), so that it not only creates an entertaining adventure, a plausible hypothesis and at the same time already impossible in time, but also, from my point of view, a small tribute, which, answering the question we asked ourselves at the beginning, yes it does poetic justice (depending on who reads it, of course) in a beautiful and intelligent way.

Surprised and delighted with this literary proposal that would fill the shelves of any publisher’s best-selling books. Good luck with it, Francisco.

If you like this type of novels, I also recommend:

> The echo of my name by Isabel Romero Casas (just reviewed!)

> Only the living forgive by Fernando González Rovira.

> The silence of Berlin from Africa Vázquez Beltrán.

> The Secret Legion of the South of Victor Deutsch.