Walking the Lions

The strength of this book is the extent to which it is infused with a palpable sense of place. There is quite a bit of accurate local color, including reference to the Catalan language spoken in Barcelona and surrounding areas. Say what one will of Burgen's characters, those who know Barcelona likely would agree with me that the people in the book reflect very recognizable types. I'm not sure that any novel in English, perhaps not even the translations of Manuel Vazquez Montalban, rings as true.