Spain (Travel Library)

SPAIN by Jan Morris When I first read Jan Morris's Spain I had visited that country five times. Knowing her keen eye and passionate prose I expected a rare experience. I was not disappointed. I liken her writing to an impressionist painting. When gazing at a Monet or a Renoir one experiences the almost physical reality of the paintings on ones soul. So it is with the magic conjured by Morris in Spain. For those who know and love the country and its peoples she reaffirms our convictions. For those who do not yet know them this book could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. For it is a journey where you find yourself sitting next to the author, sharing her bottled water, slicing a pungent cheese and cutting off pieces of spicy sausage to put into the crusty roll of bread still warm from the bakery. She treks through the major Provinces, takes us through the narrow Moorish streets of Seville, around the ancient University of Salamanca, the eating houses of Madrid and to Avila, the home of the mystic St.Teresa. Turning the pages at a slower pace than I normally would, I savoured the vigorous style and the images that she conjured. They stirred all the senses. I include the sixth. For Morris reaches into the soul of the people and the cities and the countryside giving rare insights into how and why great events such as the Spanish Armada or the bombing of Guernica in the Civil War may have taken place. The perceptions thus gained reveal to us the underlying urges and passions that drive such great events. Our introduction into the Spanish psyche is developed as we follow Morris along the highways of a growing economy, observing with a keen eye their political and social progress against the backdrop of their recent and turbulent history. She takes us down the dusty roads trodden by a gaunt figure in rusty armour on a spindly steed followed by a podgy fellow astride a donkey. One almost sees the white sails of windmills that will surely attract the attention of that wandering knight. For it is none other than my demented hero, Don Quixote de la Mancha and Sancho Panza. Our other senses are constantly called into action by Morris's evocative writing . One can smell the aroma of olive oil heating in a skillet, the saliva inducing garlic lightly browning, whiffs of Cuba's finest burning leaves, and the odours of centuries of wine splashed on the wooden floors of bars and bodegas. She swirls us into the arms of a black eyed gypsy girl dancing a wild Sevillana at a feria in Andalusia, the hot animal smells of a crowded bullring on a sweltering summer's day, the bitter sweet taste of a rough wine squirted down your throat from a leather wine skin by a laughing Basque speaking an unintelligible tongue in Pamplona at the running of the bulls. She takes us into the mountains of Cantabria, along the ancient pathways of the pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela, trying the ciders and wines, tasting fresh fish and hearing the bagpipes of tha

Obviously, the most important thing about a book is the writing, and I've never yet found much fault in Jan Morris as a travel writer (I haven't read much of her history-writing yet). This book, first written forty years ago and re-released in 1988, is a lyrical work that focuses much on the soul and spirit of Spain and her people, as well as on the history and geography that are so much a part of that soul and spirit. It's entertaining, enlightening, and evocative -- even if you can't help but wonder how much, if any, of it is still relevant today.Unfortunately, there is much merit in the Publishers Weekly criticisms of this edition. The type is indeed set very small -- and even with the wide margins on most pages, can be decidedly, if unconsciously, hard on the eyes. Interesting as the writing itself was, I sometimes found it hard to keep motoring ahead through the difficult layout. Cecilia Eales' watercolors do add a lighthearted and colorful element to the text-heavy pages, while the contemporary oil paintings, sometimes referenced in the text but often not, add an extra historical dimension. This book could have been about 50 pages longer, just by using a larger type size, with much greater prospects for readability and enjoyment.In all, this is still a fine book for getting a glimpse into the heart of Spain -- at least as one non-Spanish writer saw it some time ago. Poetic and soulful as well as informative, it strikes me as a good introduction to a nation still much removed from the thoughts and experience of most Americans.