Maw ''Sorry Jura but Victoria Hislop does not write great novels ! Pleasant enough paperback reads for the train or for a holiday, which can be thrown away to save on the baggage allowance, but even The Island was underwhelming!''
a matter of personal taste. I have personally learnt a lot about the history of the persecution of Jews in Thessaloniki, the partition of Cyprus, the persecution of Gipsies in Franco's Spain, the leper colonies of Crete, and more- thanks to VH's novels- which I would probably have not become aware of otherwise.
Re Catalan suppression- this happened in France too in the Perpignan South West region. My friend says her grandparents were not allowed to speak catalan at home, their native tongue, and kids were beaten and tied up at school if they were caught speaking catalan.