Books wanted
 

Can anybody recommend a book or two on Spain from an Ex-pats point of view written between 1900 - 1980.

I am particularly interested in the period before and after the civil war.

Cheers all.

Re: Books wanted
 

You won't go far wrong with George Orwell.

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Cheers, HBG

Are you meaning 'homage to Catalonia'?

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No, he wrote a lot more than that and actually fought on the losing side in the Spanish Civil War. So did Hemingway. Two of the West's best writers, best writers by far, were involved in the war, an astonishing statistic, and that's without counting the many excellent Spanish writers who wrote about it.

Spain was a pretty well closed society at the time, neutral in the biggest war ever on their doorstep, but the fight for freedom, a lost one, resonated around the world.

Even now, Spanish authorities are not prepared to open the many mass graves all over Spain, the memories are too recent and too painful.

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Thanks again HBG, I was not looking for any writing on the Spanish Civil War and can't find anything by Orwell to do with Spain outside of this time period

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There might be something in here that would interest you:

http://www.thelocal.es/galleries/Cul...n#.UXbBdbVgdqU

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Orwell's writing is interesting hut tendentious. Try this one for a modern interpretation

http://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Spain-T...=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

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Not really sure what you mean from an expats point of view, are you looking for something serious written by a Brit or the more modern expat view. Certainly the three best hispanists are Paul Preston, Hugh Thomas and Ian Gibson, although Gibson maintains he can't now be a hispanist as he is a Spanish national. ;) Between them they have written lots of serious works from well before the war and after. Just looking through my bookcase, Robert Elms, A Portrait after the General, Adam Hopkins, Spanish Journey might be what you are looking for.

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Depending on your taste, a few I'd recommend are:
*"Juan Carlos" by Paul Preston
*"Or I'll dress you in mourning" by Larry Collins & Dominique Lapierre
*"Ghosts of Spain" by Giles Tremlett
*"South from Granada/The face of Spain/The Spanish Labyrinth" all by Gerald Brenan
*"Fire in the blood" by Ian Gibson
*"Spanish Journeys" by Adam Hopkins
*"The Basque country" by Paddy Woodworth

Good, well respected historians include Raymond Carr, Paul Preston, Hugh Thomas, Ronald Fraser & Anthony Beevor, all with 'thick books' after their names!! Thick as in heavy enough for door-stops.

Some of these are out of print but easily available on Amazon UK, which also gives opinions of the various books.

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Try Laurie Lee - As I walked out one Midsummer Morning (just before the war) and A Rose in Winter (returning to Spain in the 1950s). A bit too poetic for some, but lots of affectionate detail.

Can't think of much else pre-1980, that hasn't been mentioned already.

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I'd definitely say Ghosts of Spain as recommended above, it took me a while to get through but it was very informative

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Juan Carlos by Paul Preston
Ghosts of Spain by Giles Tremlett
The Spanish Labyrinth by Gerald Brenan
Los Santos Inocentes by Miguel Delibes

There are loads of more light hearted books by both English and Spanish writers, not sure exactly what you are looking for.

Rosemary