From The Washington Post From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by Frances Itani A sense of menace hangs over the opening of Guernica. We know the "what" of events to come, but not the "how." And it is the "how" of this book that comes alive through Dave Boling's creation of several generations of Basque families in northern Spain during the civil war of the 1930s. As fascism rises in Europe, citizens who once believed themselves to be safe in their own countries are suddenly compelled to flee. Spaniards, including Basque citizens, pour into France from the south. Resistance movements arise. Endangered German and French citizens, often including artists and intellectuals, are smuggled into Spain and then on to Portugal as a departure point toward any country that will accept them. Miguel Navarro, a young man who has never been comfortable at sea on the family fishing boat, finds himself in danger from the Guardia Civil and must leave his village of Lekeitio. He makes his way to Guernica, the center of Basque culture, and there he meets Miren Ansotegui, a beautiful dancer who is cherished by her prominent family and the people of the town. Thus begins the love story in Guernica, a novel that is, at first glance, about extremes: The women are beautiful, the men brave, family ties unbreakable, and political parties all-powerful. But Boling threads his way through the stories of his many characters with humor, compassion and rich details of Basque tradition. The literary risks Boling takes include interspersing passages told from the points of view of two historical figures: Picasso and Wolfram von Richthofen of the German Luftwaffe. Lt. Col. von Richthofen commands fliers of experimental bombers; at the invitation of Franco, he tests his bombing tactics in the skies above Guernica on April 26, 1937. A cousin of the Red Baron, von Richthofen is portrayed as cold and efficient. For his efforts, the F