The Small Hours by Edward Averett

An intense cultural drama that explores the logic of loyalty through a historical lens, The Small Hours by Edward Averett is a reflective and revelatory work of historical fiction.

On the same day that psychologist Michael Virtue’s best friend dies, his wife proposes a separation, sending his life into a spiral that takes him all the way to Andalusia, Spain. Twenty years earlier, he had traveled there in search of his missing uncle, who had disappeared after volunteering to fight fascists in the Spanish Civil War. This time, Michael is accompanied by his deceased friend’s alluring ex, a woman fleeing her own dangerous consequences back home in Washington. Seemingly dragged into a role from a much larger and older drama, Michael steps out of the world he knows, but retracing his uncle’s past unearths buried secrets that haven’t lost potency with time.

With a psychologist as the out-of-place protagonist, the narration leans towards the cynical, sarcastic, and meticulously observant, while also coming alive with authentically drawn ideological conflicts and multilayered historical world-building. Non-traditional archetypes drive the belief-bending plot – a marriage of whirlwind convenience, a brainwashed captive, and a naive hero-villain – all of which add an off-kilter atmosphere to an already tangled, generation-spanning plot.

A patient yet arresting story of alienation, patriotism, and the irrationality of love, this is an immersive and unpredictable novel that deserves a wide audience for its finely crafted detail of both setting and character, and timeless themes that resonate strongly today.