Ask any teenager who reads English fiction who their favourite thriller author is, and I can assure you at least 7 out of 10 replies you get will be Sidney Sheldon. And here is yet another offering from the wide array of Sheldon you’ve always had out there, and it’s similarly similar and yet similarly different from its precedents.
The Sands of Time is set on the background of the Basque nationalist movement in Spain. And true to the Sheldon style, it introduces the uninitiated reader to the essence of the country, its culture and people, with local festivals (for example, the story begins with the traditional Fiesta de San Fermin in the little town of Pamplona), details on the lifestyle and of course little snippets of the language punched in. This is the story of Jaime Miro, the charismatic leader of the Basque nationalists, one of the best characters ever created by Sheldon. This is also the story of four nuns who had escaped the Cistercian Convent – Megan, the tomboyish orphan who looks more American than Spanish; Lucia, daughter of the prosecuted mafioso Angelo Carmine; Graciela, the dark beauty with a past that’s darker; and the conscience-driven Teresa. The real story begins as the runaway Basque terrorists, including Miro, cross the way of the nuns.
Each character, vividly different from the others, contribute their own subplot to the story – plots and subplots that brilliantly conjure up, merge with each other, and are again suddenly ripped apart as new revelations are made, and the very different people bound together by an irony of fate move towards a common ending.
Some critics blame The Sands of Time for glorifying Basque terrorist activities, to them I’d like to ask – Is a story worth being blamed just because maybe the protagonist’s view differs from yours?. A character like Jaime Miro is always appreciable, whatever be his standing. In fact, he reminded me more of the Indian freedom fighters than terrorists, especially in the part where he’s being led to execution by the garrote.
However, the character that has really touched me is Amparo Jiron, Miro’s girlfriend and fellow fighter who later changes loyalties and betrays the group. She seems to be the most flesh-and-blood character of the story and her emotions and mental disturbances are very well- portrayed.
The ending is a tad unrealistic. While Miro’s escape from the garrote is totally understandable, it is somewhat difficult to accept the ambitious and sensual Lucia Carmine settle for the domestic life of a farmer’s wife.
So in the end, is this book worth buying? Definitely, if you are a Sheldon fan (but then you might already have it). Yes too, if you are a hopeless romantic with your feet still fixed in reality (like me, hee hee). But no, if you’re looking in for historical details because some critics demand that the course of history hasn’t always been properly followed in the story (but then, I hope you aren’t one of those phonies who want to dig deep into every beautiful thing till they find the dirt).
Not a great story, but good enough for timepass on a lazy winter afternoon when there’s nothing else to do (for only one afternoon though – it’s the kind of book you wouldn’t want to put down before you finish devouring it cover to cover).
Happy reading and yeah, let me know how you feel about this review because it’s my first one of any kind in Mouthshut.