The Requisitions

“Vibrant, shadowed, compelling and ultimately symphonic, The Requisitions offers the gift of love in an impossible situation. What starts in a Polish town in a cafe in 1939 ends in the hearts of readers, everywhere, now. Moving and, as intended, memorable.”

–Nor Hall, author of Those Women and The Moon and the Virgin: Reflections on the Archetypal Feminine

“In his moving second novel, The Requisitions, Samuél Lopez-Barrantes has provided us with a roadmap through some of the most dangerous and emotional moments of our time, with lessons that will resonate far beyond its fraught era in the depths of the Second World War. This page-turning book is a must-read for all those who value the work of a master storyteller in command of his material.”

–David A. Andelman, author of A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today

“There is an inherent lyricism throughout this original and ambitious novel that seamlessly combines historical metafiction, memoir and cultural history along with philosophical inquiry. Deeply researched and masterfully constructed, The Requisitions traces the lives of captivating characters and leaves us with a deep sense of having traversed an arduous and unforgettable journey—during World War Two and beyond.”

–Heather Hartley, poet, author of Knock Knock and Adult Swim

“Riveting reading, and never lets the reader feel the safe distance of history.”

–Tim Ward, author of Mature Flâneur and Indestructible You: Building a Self that Can’t Be Broken

“Masterful prose and plotting, and a unique and imaginative approach to the subject, blending personal memoir, historical metafiction, and philosophical inquiry into the deepest recesses of the human soul...sobering, unsettling...but comes out—barely—on the side of a case for hope."

–Janet Hulstrand, author of A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France

“The Requisitions achieves that rare success of bringing metafiction into focus through the lives of those caught up in the Lodz Ghetto of 1939. In the hands of this masterful storyteller, we are walked through this brutal piece of history, carried in and out of the personal while the political rains down upon the cafes, the apartments, the homes and lives of those on both sides of invasion … It is no exaggeration to say I could not put it down. Bravo.”

–Eleanor Anstruther, author of A Perfect Explanation