Story of an English girl's love affair in a Spanish mountain village in the 1950s, harking back to the Spanish Civil War and beyond.
When Angela turns up in a remote Spanish mountain village, she is so tall and so thin and so pale that everyone thinks she is a ghost or a fairy or the dreadful mantequero that comes in the night and sucks the fat from your bones.
But Domingo knows better. “Soy Angela,” she said to him when they met – “I am an angel.” Only later did he realise that she was telling him her name and by then it was too late and everyone knew her as Domingo’s Angel.
This is the story of their love affair. But it is also the story of the people of the tiny mountain village – the indomitable Rosalba - shopkeeper, doctor, midwife and wise woman, who makes it her business to know everything that goes on in the village; Guillermo, the mayor, whose delusions of grandeur are rooted in his impoverished childhood; and Salva the Baker, who risked his life and liberty to give bread to the starving children.
The events in this story are based on the real experiences of the people of the White Villages in Southern Spain and their struggle to keep their communities alive through the years of war and the oppression of Franco’s rule.
Excerpt
The next day he took his goats to the top of the ridge near the pass and looked down on the smallest casita of Guillermo the mayor. There was a mule tethered outside and a string of washing had been hung between two almond trees. Otherwise there was no sign of life. Halfway down the slope was a large algarrobo tree. He decided it would be an ideal place for lunch.
But although he sat and watched the little house all the time as he ate his bread and cheese and olives and drank his wine, nobody came out and nothing happened. Only the mule moved along the side of the house to keep in the shade as the sun moved round. So he went to sleep.
When he woke up, someone was calling him. “Hola, goatherd!”
He squinted up into the sun and there, standing before him was an angel. It was very tall and thin and there was a fiery halo round its head. “Hello,” it said, "Soy Ángela - I am angel. I am delighted to meet you! Who are you?”
In absolute panic, Domingo shot up into a sitting position and shuffled backwards into the algarrobo tree. His head hit the hard trunk with a resounding crack and he subsided and slumped back down, feeling a little stunned.
The angel came forward into the shadow of the algarrobo tree and he realised that the halo was, in fact, hair - very long hair - falling in waves down beyond her shoulders and almost to her waist. It was exactly the colour of oranges that have dried on the tree. Her skin was so white it was almost blue and her eyes were so pale they had no colour at all. “How could they think she was a dead person?” he thought in a confused fashion. “She is obviously an angel.”
Professional Reviews
`Domingo's Angel' - truly enchanting!
Jenny Twist is a wonderfully talented storyteller and `Domingo's Angel' weaves a spell of enchantment around the reader from start to finish. Although set in the 1950s (when the English woman, Angela, first arrives in the remote mountain village of Amendillas), there is nonetheless a timeless quality to the story. Through seamless flashbacks, the narrative takes us through the dreadful days of the Spanish Civil War and Franco's despotic rule, then forwards into a happier, hopeful future.
The small, self-sufficient community seems untouched by the outside world and, on the surface looks like paradise. However, every character has been affected and deeply scarred by past tragedies and each nurses his or her own secret pain. Widows, who have long ago stopped weeping and have put away their smiles - seemingly forever, are the backbone of this community now devoid of men of a certain generation.
The English Angela is escaping from her own tragic secrets, but her healing process begins when she meets Domingo who worships her as his angel, then little by little, the healing magic begins to spread. But it is Rosalba, the excellently-drawn village matriarch, whose complex life-journey really captivates our hearts. Angela is quick to realise that "Whatever Rosalba thinks today, the village will think tomorrow" and the true love story is the growing bond between these two women, who learn to heal each other.
I read the latter half of the story almost entirely through misty eyes as the main characters grew larger than life with every page, unfolding their astonishing stories to me like good friends trusting me with their heartfelt secrets. When I reached the final page, I felt bereft and lonely, though completely satisfied that I had left them all in very good hands. Domingo's Angel is a story I will certainly read again and this author goes straight to the top of my favourites list.
A Story That Will Grab Your Heart And Won't Let Go
It's been a while since a book pulled at heart strings I didn't even know were there. Jenny Twist has delivered a tale that delves so deep, it will leave a lasting impression in anyone lucky enough to read it.
The story begins in a tiny mountain village in post-WWII Spain. A pale-skinned, red-haired woman who "barks like a dog" and carries some sort of witch's book has bought a house there and has the whole place in an uproar. A lowly goat herder by the name of Domingo is the first one to approach her. She could be either witch or an angel for all he knows. But whatever the case, he is instantly enchanted by her sweet charm.
Angela, who is actually just an English woman looking for a fresh start, becomes known as Domingo's Angel. The two of them are inseparable, and their romance forms a warm undercurrent throughout the book. However, what I found most clever about this story is that Angela's arrival does more than just spawn gossip. Her presence uncovers some very real wounds, but in a good way.
Everyone suffered tremendous losses in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). They had done well to push past their grief and get on with the business of living. But, they hadn't really found closure, and they hadn't really healed. Angela helps them do just that, particularly the formidable Rosalba, the town's most important (and feared) woman. And in return, Angela also finds closure for her painful past.
I absolutely loved the way Ms. Twist weaved together the real-time events of Angela, Domingo, and the townspeople with the past atrocities the people around them had to survive. Instead of being info-dumpy as a lot of backstory can be in novels, she wrote it in seamlessly. Characters that came across in the beginning as cold and aloof became so very real and human as I read about their struggles.
Besides the story itself, I love Ms. Twist's writing style. It's smooth, vivid, and lyrical--just a pleasure to read. If I hadn't had to stop to eat, work, and sleep, I'd have finished it in a day. And that's rare for me.
If you're looking for a great read, look no further. I'd recommend Domingo's Angel for young adults and beyond, particularly those fond of sweet, historical romance. You'll be glad you did!
An Epic of the Transformative Power of Forgiveness
An English stranger comes to a small remote Spanish village, instantly causing confusion and more than a bit of panic in the locals. But one, a goatherd named Domingo, chances upon the woman, and mistakenly understands her name Angela indicates she is an angel. The two began a romance. When Angela confesses her pregnancy, Domingo proposes marriage.
The beginning of this book is straightforward, a romance between the above characters with its sweet and funny moments, the latter particularly when Rosalba, the forbidding village matriarch, makes an appearance. Then midway through the book, as Domingo makes plans to marry Angela, the mood deepens from light romance to the dark undercurrent of not only Angela's horrific past, but also the terrible suffering of the villagers during the Spanish Civil War, as Angela begins to share her past with Domingo, and the villagers began to share their tales with her. Each character comes alive to the reader as they relate what happened to them, particularly Rosalba, who eventually shares with Angela the whole story of what she went through at the hands of the soldiers. The character of the mayor also touched me deeply; a man who betrayed his fellow neighbor to save his younger brother's life, and carried the guilt with him ever after.
This is a story of transformation. All the main characters undergo a healing, and a sort of maturation as they let go of grudges, guilt, and old pain, and embrace forgiveness for the hurts they suffered and inflicted. If you don't need the tissue box by the time you're done reading, you've got a heart of stone. And you won't be crying for sadness, but at the sheer joy of the final scene, when an English visitor comes to visit Angela, and remarks on the paradise she has found.
I wrote this novel several years ago, I self published and never had it to sell. I have decided to rewrite it and hope to get it published within a few months for people to be able to buy. I had a few copies and gave them to a few family members and
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