- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Ebury Press (3 July 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 009189042X
- ISBN-13: 978-0091890421
- Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,251,249 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Worn down by yet another dreary English winter and with an emotional disinclination for hard - or indeed any - work, Shaun Briley decides that life in Spain has to be a better bet. So he and his girlfriend Helen set off with their meagre savings (well, hers) and buy an isolated farmhouse in the mountains of Murcia. Two innocents abroad, they don't realise their farmhouse has neither electricity, water or indeed a lavatory. What follows is an extremely funny tale of how not to settle in a foreign land, involving rat racing, runaway horses and infatuated cross-eyed neighbours.
About the Author
Shaun Briley is the son of renowned Academy Award winner John Briley (Ghandi). He is currently writing a screenplay.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is well written and can be enjoyed at more than one level. It can be seen as an escapist down sizing experiment -what would it really like to do without almost all modern appliances and just live on what can be grown in the garden?
It can be viewed as a couple in their 20's developing and changing their relationship.
It can also almost be seen as a case study of the change from traditional subsistence level farming in impoverished southern Spain to modern living with the arrival of electricity to the previously 'primitive' farms and people.
It is different from most books of this genre in that the central characters are not DIY wizards and do not have a relationship which surmounts unrealistically every minor and major difficulty.
The author is now a journalist and his skill with words provides and entertaining and enjoyable.
It can be viewed as a couple in their 20's developing and changing their relationship.
It can also almost be seen as a case study of the change from traditional subsistence level farming in impoverished southern Spain to modern living with the arrival of electricity to the previously 'primitive' farms and people.
It is different from most books of this genre in that the central characters are not DIY wizards and do not have a relationship which surmounts unrealistically every minor and major difficulty.
The author is now a journalist and his skill with words provides and entertaining and enjoyable.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I read it during a very stressful time when I needed some escapism and it was the perfect choice. Even though I could not read continually due to family obligations, I finished this book in one day. I didn't want to put it down and couldn't wait to get back to it when I had to. The characters seemed very real and I felt as if I were living the adventures of escaping to the Spanish counrtyside vicariously through them. The desriptive elements were so vivid that I was left with strong mental images. I also enjoyed the subtle humor that the author used so skillfully throughout the book. I look forward to reading more of Shaun Biley's work.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What happens when you fall in love and try to run away from the tribulations of reality? Through wonderfully narrated and artfully linked anecdotes, Briley captures the romance and the pitfalls (moslty pitfalls) of moving abroad. Once I began reading this book, I could not put it down. As an author, Briley’s tongue-in-cheek humor makes you want to read on to find out what could possibly befall him next. I found myself chuckling out loud and thinking twice about moving abroad. In all, “A Foreign Affair” is a great book with a tender ending.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Stick to the day job.
Funny how all but one of the positive reviews are anonymous.
Do they all have the author's surname? Read more
Do they all have the author's surname? Read more
Published on 27 Dec 2007 by Sword of Truth
Another Curate's Egg
I tried really hard with this book, especially as I have lived more remotely than Shaun and Helen did (including carrying 50 litre water barrels on my back up a mountain..). Read more
Published on 20 May 2005 by Ardent Bibliophile
A good entertaining read
I read this book over the space of a couple of weeks and really enjoyed it, the dream of leaving behind work and a dull home life for the excitment of a new start in a new country... Read more
Published on 17 Dec 2004
A glimpse of rural Spanish life.
This book tells the story of a couple deciding to (rather irrationally) buy a delapidated farmhouse in Spain. Read more
Published on 24 Nov 2004 by Joanne Schofield
Doesnt get off the ground
Sorry this book after the second chapter & the purchase of their "casa de campo" it didnt improve sadly, very little or no work was done on the house too many arguments about... Read more
Published on 18 Jun 2004 by Dawn Biggs
Fun in the Sun
A very funny read. I laughed out loud many times. Even if you are not planning to buy in Spain it is well worth a read for the humour alone.
Published on 18 Mar 2004
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