Pandora in the Congo

A battle for the Spanish inheritance is unfolding in Europe, one that will redraw the continent’s map for many centuries. The main character, Marti Suviria, searches for an explanation of his life and the work he did during the war.

Albert Sánchez Piñol’s novel “The Defeated” is an adventurous and military epic that sparked huge interest and debate in Spain and beyond. The book features heroism, cowardice, endurance, defeat, searches, and revelations—making it Barcelona’s counterpart to “War and Peace.”