Set amid the notorious Spanish Inquisition and the murderous Dirty War in Argentina of the late 1970s, two women, more than four centuries apart, transcend the barriers of time and fight political and religious persecution to ensure the survival of their lineage.
After being inexplicably removed from her family in a small fishing town in Argentina, six year-old Angelina is sent to a Catholic convent where she spends her next twelve years. During her lonely days at the convent, she finds solace in the company of a mysterious presence, by the name of Sara Fernandez, which gradually reels her into the life of a Marrano family living at the end of the 15th century in Cordoba, Spain. As Angelina embeds herself in the life of the Fernandez family, she understands that Sara is not a product of her imagination, rather the link to her secret past and her only hope for survival. Set amid the notorious Spanish Inquisition and the murderous Dirty War in Argentina of the late 1970s, two women, more than four centuries apart, transcend the barriers of time and fight political and religious persecution to ensure the survival of their lineage.
Professional Reviews
Readers Favorite
The Last Fernandez by Sandra Perez Gluschankoff is a historical novel that transports readers to a turbulent moment in history, allowing them to feel the dynamics of the Spanish Inquisition and the bloody war in Argentina. It explores what it meant to be a Jew at that time of the Inquisition and the horrors of war. Angelina is just six when she is sent to a Catholic convent where she would spend the next twelve years of her life. It is here that she makes a strong connection with Sara Fernandez, a strange woman whose presence takes her away from the stark loneliness of her life. Little does she know that she’d be linked eventually to the very life and heart of a Marrano family. What did it really mean to be a Jew during the time of the Inquisition and what does it have to do with a girl living many centuries after that event?
The reader is taken on a dramatic ride alongside compelling characters. The writing is filled with emotions, and it is interesting how the author imbues her characters with life and a rare humanity. She melds elements of historical fiction with time travel to create an exceptionally tantalising reading experience for readers. The setting is strong and readers get a clear picture of the 15th century in Cordoba, Spain and Argentina during the late 1970s. The themes of political and religious persecution, family, and man’s inhumanity to man are developed with unusual mastery. The story is balanced and deft and the reader can feel the interconnections between the setting, the thematic development, character building, and conflict. The Last Fernandez is one of the best books I have read in the genre of historical events. It is intelligently plotted and written to perfection.
Winner of the Marie M.Irivine Literary Excellence gold seal for 2018
Winner of the Marie M.Irivine Literary Excellence gold seal for 2018
I like historical fiction and revealing the Spanish Inquisition and the injustice in the two-tier South American society like that in Argentina is something that every person wishing for strong religious control and government by the rich should read. We should learn from history and not repeat it.
From your accolades and reviews, all five stars, you have established yourself as a writer of note. I haven't yet. Your title caught my eye, because I had a graduate assistant, Maria Fernandez, work for me while studying for her MBA in accounting from Belize. She was clearly Mayan, with a father from Mexico and a mother from Guatemala and very bright. She went on to study forensic accounting, became a CPA and opened offices in Belize, Cayman Islands and Trinidad and Tobago. She married a high level Mason lawyer who was prosecuting drug gangsters and they had three children.
Maria was involved in tracking money laundering when her and her husband hired a man to work for them. He quit and stole their car. They recovered the car but not the keys. Later he came back with another young man and murdered both Maria and her husband while her nanny and the kids hid in a closet. They were murdered using MS 13 ritualized stabbing to the face of over 50 times. Their children hearing them screaming.
I dedicated my book, American Mole: The Cartel, to Maria and her husband. Her sister has remained here in the states, has a PhD in education and has taken her kids under her care. So Maria was not the last Fernandez.
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