The members of the reading group chose to discuss the novel The Fencing Master by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, published in 1988.
Book Presentation
“Fencing is the mystique of gentlemen. And all the more so in times like these.”
1868, Madrid. Spain is on the brink of revolution, and the days of the monarchy are numbered. Jaime Astarloa, an old-fashioned fencing master, sees the values to which he has remained faithful all his life collapse around him. While his friends spend their days in cafés speculating about the future of the court, Jaime devotes himself to perfecting the mastery of his art, now doomed to disappear. But the day he takes the beautiful and mysterious Adela de Otera as a pupil, his daily life is turned upside down. Little by little, Jaime discovers the real reason why the young woman sought him out and finds himself drawn into a whirlwind of plots and murders.
Arturo Pérez-Reverte immerses us masterfully in a twilight Spain, exploring the power of money, political ambition, and the ideals of honor and chivalry.
