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The Factory of Light: Life in an Andalucian Village
 
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The Factory of Light: Life in an Andalucian Village (Hardcover)

by Michael Jacobs (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 272 pages
  • Publisher: John Murray Publishers Ltd (5 Jun 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0719561639
  • ISBN-13: 978-0719561634
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.6 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 299,555 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review
'The descriptions of events and encounters burst with vividness and energy' -- Oxford Mail 20030613 'Along the way, we are treated to insights into Spanish rural life, both past and present, brought alive by a cast of colourful characters. Humorous, touching and dramatic, The Factory of Light is a refreshing alternative to the current wave of 'moving to the Med' travelogues, from a skilled writer with a deep knowledge of , and concern for , his subject' -- Wanderlust 20030701 'Jacobs' skills as a writer, combined with his knowledge of Spain and passion for its people, have resulted in a refreshing travel alternative' -- Irish Examiner 20030701 'Spinning ever wilder and more ambitious schemes, Jacobs takes the reader (and the town) towards a hilarious, Rabelaisian denouement.' -- Harpers & Queen 20040201 'A welcome reminder that close encounters of the Mediterranean kind don't have to be all froth' -- Sunday Times 20040201 'Rural life in Spain is vividly evoked in Michael Jacob's delightful book' -- Traveller Magazine 20030701 'He writes ... with insight, tenderness and wit' -- Sunday Times 20040912

Harpers & Queen
'Spinning ever wilder and more ambitious schemes, Jacobs takes the reader (and the town) towards a hilarious, Rabelaisian denouement.'

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
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 (6)
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The best Michael Jacobs, 29 May 2006
By Juan Ant Diaz Lopez (Granada, Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Factory of Light: Tales from My Andalucian Village (Paperback)
I am a specialist on travel literature on Spain, and since I read the first book of Michael Jacobs, I had the feeling he was one of the greatest travel literature writers in English. Spain and Andalusia have been his major themes, and his guide Andalusia, is a compulsory reading. His book on the Alhambra is impressive, and since he started writing readers have the feeling that after Borrow, Ford, Morris and Gerald Brenan, Michael Jacobs is the present of travel literature on Spain. A proof of that is The Factory of Light. A book that contains the story of a group of characters in Frailes, a small village of the unknown province of Jaen, told as a piece of magic realism, mixed with a special sense of humour, and echoing styles that go from Swift to Brenan, from Valle Inclán to Borrow, but giving to the whole a special touch of his own. A witty, moving, exciting, funny book, that makes the reader eager to know the real characters behind the literary portraits. This is literature, good travel literature.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars life-enhancing and brilliantly original, 16 May 2006
By Jacqueline Rae (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Factory of Light: Tales from My Andalucian Village (Paperback)
It is difficult to understand how anyone with a sensitivity to literature and Spain could not fall in love with this remarkably funny, moving and profound book, which was rightly shortlisted for the 25th Thomas Cook Travel Book Award and should have won. The author's deep understanding of Spain shines through on every page, as does his immense sympathy for human beings. As the book developes, the story becomes ever more engrossing and fast-paced, culminating in a climax as exciting and bizarre as any I have read. It is surely the finest book to have been written on Andalucia since Gerald Brenan's South from Granada, and one of the best and most subversive books ever about an Englishman's adaptation to the Mediterranean world.
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Not just another 'good life abroad' book, 9 May 2003
By Jonathan Cox (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
Michael Jacobs' "Factory of Light" is a welcome antidote to the drearily predictable 'making a go of it abroad' genre, with its identikit plots that could be set in any sunny, Mediterranean country . Essentially, this is an extended love letter to the village of Frailes, which Jacobs has adopted as his own, and which has returned the compliment. His deep understanding and knowledge of Spain and the Spanish, and his limitless curiosity and enthusiasm for the remarkable people he encounters shines from every page. In a sense, this is a study of how extraordinary the ordinary can be. It's witty, wise, poignant and wonderfully life-affirming.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A magnificent Portrait of Rural Spain
I have lived all my life in rural Spain, and have never read a book that captures so brilliantly the feel of an Andalucian village. Read more
Published on 7 Jul 2006 by Lolo Loveca

5.0 out of 5 stars The Model of a Modern British Quixote
Jacobs presents himself as a slightly deranged, romantic character, while simultaneously managing a sharp-witted authorial presence, well aware of the embarassment of ironies... Read more
Published on 31 May 2006 by Robert T. C. Goodwin

1.0 out of 5 stars pretentious waffle
After reading michael jacobs "andalucia" I thought this book would be different from the usual"living in rural spain". Read more
Published on 6 May 2006 by P. A. Watson

5.0 out of 5 stars The REAL life in an Andalucian Village
I happen to come from the area in Spain in which Michael Jacob's book is set and it could not be funnier or realistic. Read more
Published on 6 Dec 2003 by Victoria Noble

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