South From Granada (Penguin Modern Classics)
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Product Description
Cyril Connolly, Sunday Times
The best of Brenan's books: he has a true and proper knowledge of the culture he describes'
The Times
`A brilliant interpreter of Spain to the rest of the world'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Intoxicating account of Mr Brenan's arrival and adventures in the Alpujarra, Andalucia in the 1920's. After all these years, his observations and humour still strike a chord. Even if you are visiting the Costa Del Sol on for the sun or golf, read this for an insight to the "real" Spain and its history - just few miles inland.
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book has to be a must for anyone living or travelling in the southern most parts of Spain. It clearly paints a picture of the life and times of a nation and its people, who in a short period of time have moved from a society living in part, a medievial life style, through to civil war, and the threshold of the modern state Spain has become today.
Brenan tells a tale of village life,and of the people who lived there, and records their folk-lores, customs and history; and also of the visitors to his home, Virginia Wolf, Dora Carrington, Lytton Strachey and Augustus John, and of their connections within the Bloomsbury group.
The places are real, they are still there, and through this book a modern day visitor can travel back in time and with just a little imagination, recreate those the scenes and passions of 80 years ago; of Yeger, the village for severn years his home, and of the cities of Granada and Almeria and the mountains of the Sierra Nevada.
It is a delightful book full of colour and once started you may find very difficult to put down.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a true classic from Gerald Brenan. After WW1 the author was close to breakdown, desperate to experience poetry and literature and the recipient of a small war pension. His solution was to travel to a remote village in the South of Spain, take 2000 books and soak in the atmosphere and learn how to love once again. His journey is understated, educated, intelligent and human.
It is no picture book. It is a true snapshot taken through the eyes of a would-be Bloomsbury boy who had experienced the Empire, the Somme and physical illness and who then decided to actually pay attention to the world sarrounding him.
Brenans description of the personalities, geography, love affairs and society he encounters are glorious to me. There is no vanity or laziness in the writing. As his lifestyle is stripped to necessities so is his writing. Yet it is free and beautiful and evocative in many places. So many modern travel writers try to recreate life as a gaudy, filter-enhanced, postcard picture of the places they are subsidised to visit. Gerald Brenan captures a clear, gentle, colour snap of his life spent in Yegen during a period of time when black and white was all the camera could capture. Perhaps that is the reason it seems to have been so important for him to record it faithfully.
It is no picture book. It is a true snapshot taken through the eyes of a would-be Bloomsbury boy who had experienced the Empire, the Somme and physical illness and who then decided to actually pay attention to the world sarrounding him.
Brenans description of the personalities, geography, love affairs and society he encounters are glorious to me. There is no vanity or laziness in the writing. As his lifestyle is stripped to necessities so is his writing. Yet it is free and beautiful and evocative in many places. So many modern travel writers try to recreate life as a gaudy, filter-enhanced, postcard picture of the places they are subsidised to visit. Gerald Brenan captures a clear, gentle, colour snap of his life spent in Yegen during a period of time when black and white was all the camera could capture. Perhaps that is the reason it seems to have been so important for him to record it faithfully.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
I preferred Laurie Lees books about Andalucia
I preferred Laurie Lee's books about Andalucia, they have more insight and written better. Gerald Brennan seems to be the typical stiff Brit abroad; just observing the natives and... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. Richard Artes
excellent interesting book
The real story of an englishman visiting spain after WW1. His thoughts as he walked for miles, then his life, people he met etc. I found it interesting & well written
Published 6 months ago by J. Wylie
Interesting & Boring
Parts of the book were interesting to read about but there were also some boring passages which, I'm afraid, is our overall impression.
Published 8 months ago by Bluesman
Gerard Brenan, South from Granada.
Superb book, read all Chris Stewart's books, so far about 4 times each. Got Gerard Brenan's South from Granada, nearly finished second read of it in about one month. Read more
Published 9 months ago by R. Palmer
Muy muy agradable
I enjoyed this book so much that I had to ration myself, just reading a chapter at a time while I had another book on the go. Read more
Published 11 months ago by pantodame
A good read about a bygone era
This is truly a modern classic capturing, as it does, a way of life that has almost but not quite been lost in the 21st century. Read more
Published 11 months ago by P. Cook
PREJUDICED
This book was of interest as I am due to visit the area in May and wanted to be able to make a comparison and learn more about the Alpujarras as it is now compared to 1920's. Read more
Published 14 months ago by EM
south from Granada
I bought this book after being recomended it while on Holiday in the Alpujarra. It is a very enjoyable book to read, never hard work to understand, and I can happily pick it up and... Read more
Published 16 months ago by ginoco's mum
South From Granada
As other reviewers have said, this is a trip back in time...you don't need to remember that as you read the book... Read more
Published 16 months ago by corsario
Only Good for Siesta Time
Gerald Brenan is closely identified with Spain but I have never had the desire to read his books as I have often felt that some English writers go over the top when they write... Read more
Published 21 months ago by John Fitzpatrick
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