I have learned more about the Spanish Civil War by reading The Carpenter's Pencil by Manuel Rivas than through all the history books. -- Gunter Grass, Nobel Prize of Literature 1999 A strange and haunting novel... a sincere and beautiful portrait of a brutal, ugly period of Spanish history. The Guardian El l piz del carpintero brings together the taste of popular legends from around the world Paris Match A profound tale of love, art, politics and the lingering effects of a gentleness and cruelty on the soul The Miami Herald A startling novel. I have rarely read a piece of writing so poetic Daily Telegraph The novel is magnificently structured... The language is rich... one of the best Spanish novels of recent years. It tells a story of great emotional power and speaks movingly of the ability of moral principle to resist fascism Times Literary Supplement Rivas is a superb stylist in the Spanish tradition of less is more Washington Post Magnificent Le Monde