Spanish Recognitions: The Road from the Past

Rating:
Summary: fascinating
Review: An 82 year old woman from an American coal mining region heads out to explore Spain on her own in a rental car, with very little Spanish, but a wealth of information she has read before hand. Her notes and thoughts through the journey are fascinating and revealing. Her insights into St. Theresa are original and enlightening, her discussion of the Roman remains in Merida are very interesting reading. In a few short paragraphs lays out why the Muslin religion took hold so well when it did, a description that is simple that I have not seen anywhere else. She takes her facts and transcends them into clear understanding in an impressive way. Without speaking the language she has the feel for the people and conveys it quite well. The last couple chapters tail off in strength, but the book is a definite read for anyone who has been to Spain and is in love with the country. Remarkable piece of work.

Rating:
Summary: Some recognitions are too familiar...
Review: As an aficionado of Spain and (almost) all things Spanish, I have read Mary Lee Settle's book with pleasure. Although she covers a lot of well-trodden ground, she also introduces the reader to some less-known places, such as Zamora, Guadalupe or
Jerez de los Caballeros. Her writing style is smooth and evocative, and her personal, opinionated way of seeing things quite enjoyable (unlike some other reviewers, I do believe that good travel writing must be personal and opinionated, otherwise it is just guidebook writing.)

However, "Spanish Recognitions" suffers from several evident shortcomings and faults. Its editing is rather poor: numerous Spanish words are either misspelled, or have their accents misplaced or completely omitted (but it is worth pointing out that Ms. Settle always uses the correct expression "auto de fe" instead of the Portuguese "auto da fe", so irritatingly common in other books about Spain.)

The text also contains a substantial number of factual errors and misunderstandings. For example, Goya never created any "black prints", only "black paintings" (p. 21; the prints in question are called "Los Caprichos"). Goya's famous painting showing the execution of Spanish insurgents in Madrid is called not "The Second of May" but "The Third of May, 1808", while the canvas referred to by Ms. Settle (not incorrectly) as "The Attack on the Mamelukes by the Madrilenos" is also known as "The Second of May" (that's why so many streets in Spain bear the name "Dos de Mayo"; both examples from p. 24).

On the same page, Goya's series of etchings is referred to as "The Horrors of War" instead of the proper title "The Disasters of War". Also, Goya did not arrive in Madrid in 1780 "with the dung of [his] village still on his boots" (p. 19-20): he had been by then already well established in the Spanish capital, working on tapestry cartoons for the Royal Tapestry Works of Santa Barbara. Even before that, he had executed several important commissions in and around Saragossa, and stayed for some time in Italy.

On page 29 Ms. Settle states unambigiously that the model for Goya's twin paintings "The Clothed Maya" and "The Nude Maya" has been the Duchess of Alba but this identification is completely unsupported. Finally, pages 28 to 32 are devoted to the Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida and its famous frescoes by Goya without mentioning the fact that this church is the resting place of the painter himself.

On pages 63-64 the author seems to state that Emperor Charles V (1500-1558) was still alive and in charge during the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). On page 25 we find the following, obviously untrue, statement: "There had been an earlier attempt at democracy in 1931, but it was soon put down by a dictatorship." Page 150 includes a mention of the "cathedral" of St. Peter in the Vatican (which is actually a basilica.) On
page 149 the date of Martin Luther's posting of his famous 95 theses in Wittenberg is given as 1516 instead of 1517. On page 182 the date of the founding of the Knights Templar is also one year off (1119, should be 1118). Similarly, on page 180, the fall of Jerusalem during the First Crusade is said to have taken place on July 15, 1087 (the correct year is 1099).

On page 185 Damascus is wrongly listed among the Crusader possessions in the Middle East. The statement on page 198, to the effect that "Augustus Caesar... appointed himself a god", is also not true; in fact, Augustus - from 42 BC on - called
himself "a son of god" (i.e., Julius Caesar's who was deified in that year) but he very carefully avoided the Oriental custom of deifying living rulers. On page 213 the author makes a mistaken assertion that "Islam... has billions of followers, more than
Christianity" (in September 2002 the approximate estimates were 2 billion Christians and 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide.) Prophet Muhammad did not "chose" the name of Islam for his revelations, this term appears in the Qur'an itself (page 214). I am also very puzzled by the precise date of the Prophet's birth - given on page 215 as April 20, 571 - since the best guess by the experts on Islam is "around 570 AD".

On page 263, Ms. Settle describes "a famous Spanish painting of Ferdinand and Isabel receiving a delegation from the Granadian (sic) Jews" in which description she misidentifies not only the subject of the painting (which is in fact about the expulsion
of Jews from Spain) but also one of its main characters. It was Tomas de Torquemada, the famous - or infamous - Grand Inquisitor, and not Cardinal Jimenes de Cisneros, who accused the Catholic Monarchs of trying to betray Christ again for
thirty pieces of silver. Incidentally, she elsewhere calls Torquemada "a fanatic Catholic" (p. 61) without seemingly being aware of the fact that the Grand Inquisitor - like so many other officials of the Spanish Inquisition - came from a Jewish "converso" family.

The most disappointing feature of Ms. Settle's book is a tendency to perpetuate specific myths, cliches and stereotypes about Spain. This is all the more surprising in comparison with the parallel (and usually quite convincing) attempts at debunking other, similar myths (for example, the story of Queen Juana la Loca.) Thus the author's attitude toward the Spanish Civil War simply continues the crude, cartoonish image of "good Republicans" and "bad Nationalists/Fascists". There is no discussion of the undemocratic, discriminatory policies of the "democratically elected" Republican government. Republican prewar atrocities, political assassinations and war crimes are
conveniently included in the phrase "atrocities on both sides" (page 129), and General Franco's role as the defender of traditional Spanish values against communism and anarchy is not even mentioned. Like so many similar accounts, "Spanish Recognitions" seems to imply that the Nationalist side enjoyed no popular support whatsoever, and that it won the war only through terror and brute force, mostly due to the military help of Hitler and Mussolini. Ms. Settle is aware of the absurd character of such a picture: on page 14 she writes, "That was then and this is now, and we know too much about the Spanish
war, but then, it was simple, a black-and-white war, a right side and a wrong side." Nevertheless, instead of trying to construct a more balanced view of the conflict, she escapes into stubborn nostalgia: "If we were naive, thank God for naivete; maybe it breaks the barriers of cynicism." Maybe. But it doesn't produce unbiased history.

Ms. Settle's views on the Spanish Inquisition, the Jews in Spain and the life of El Cid are also entirely conventional (for more realistic treatment of these topics I recommend, respectively, Henry Kamen's "The Spanish Inquisition", Americo Castro's
"The Structure of Spanish History" and Richard Fletcher's "The Quest for El Cid".) On the other hand, she seems to have a soft spot for the Catholic Church and she doesn't bash Philip II or the corrida, thus leaving alone at least some of the most
popular Spanish targets for the politically correct. It is also interesting to observe how, when trying to assess the role of Queen Isabel I, about whom Ms. Settle has written an earlier book, her semi-feminist tendencies constantly clash with her liberal principles.

All in all, "Spanish Recognitions" does not quite measure up to its ambitious title but it is not without merit. A second, revised edition should be even better.





Rating:
Summary: Love it
Review: I am buying another copy for my sister I loved it so much. Of course the author's views of Spain are colored by her prejudices and pecadillos - THIS IS ALL HER OPINION. If I want dry accurate facts and figures I will read a text book, but I want to read what someone feels when standing in the same spot that St. Teresa stood in, or what it feels like to walk around the mountains of Extremadura. I loved her connections from past to present and the general chattiness as if she were acquainted with historical figures. This is a book about feelings and if you don't like that kind of narrative you will not like the book.

Rating:
Summary: Thanks, AHamilton
Review: I am flattered by ahamilton reviewing my review!!!

Rating:
Summary: a close-minded old lady's view of Spain
Review: I do not recommend this book, for the very reason that makes travel writing often wonderful or terrible with no middle ground: The author's neurotic, closed-minded, and intolerant persona comes across rather than a view of Spain. The book should rather be called "Self-Recognitions," rather than "Spanish Recognitions," for that reason. Contrast Barbara Grizzuti Harrison's wonderful _Italian Days_. No one ever accused Harrison of being easy to get along with (I was acquainted with her before her death), yet in _Italian Days_ she demonstrates that she is aware of how her neurosis colors her views of Italy. Paul Theroux and Bruce Chatwin show similar characteristics in their writing. Here, on the other hand, is no such self-awareness or insight. I recommend Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls's _Spain_ (a Cadogan guide). During the six months that I lived in Spain, I sometimes found their conclusions loony, but the authors at least show how their own personae lead them to those sometimes-loony conclusions. (For the record, however, their book is, for the most part, fabulous.) The same cannot be said of Ms. Settle's work, where conclusions are presented as if they were analytic truths. The first reviewer of this book, although he or she did not finish it, should be lauded for his or her perception of the author's limited vision.

Rating:
Summary: Immensely enjoying read
Review: If you base your review on the use of "da" instead of "de" and can't spell the name of the town where you live (it's Oakland), I suggest actually finishing reading the book before making such harsh judgements about it.
This is a wonderful read, full of interesting and accessible information on Spain. Those of us who have actually been there understand exactly what she is saying about the contrasts that exist in the people of Spain who are going through a tremendous change in national character, partly based on their EU membership. BTW: reviewing a travel book for authenticity should at a minimum have a requirement of having actually visited.
I am going back in a few weeks and hope to use some of the information in this book as a means of exploring the areas in and around Madrid.
As an aside, If you want to see a more objective sense of this woman's writing, check out what has been said about "Turkish Reflections".

Rating:
Summary: a tour through Spains
Review: This is a lovely account of one lady's tour through a country with which she so rightly tells us "no one in this new millennium should ignore... it was one of the first places mentioned as being stolen from the Muslims in an early televised Osama bin Laden tirade of bitterness and intent. ... Al-Andalus. Andalucia. Spain. Few in this country knew what he was talking about" (255). I (unknowingly following in Mary Lee Settle's footsteps) decided to find out.

Yet it was so difficult to discover any information about post-1492 Spain. I had a hard time finding books telling me about Knights Templar's history and tragic end in Il Torre Sangrienta (the tower of blood); giving me an intimate portrait of Black Virgin's of Guadalupe's haunting eyes; telling me of Unamunno's dramatic defiance of Franco's regime; or telling me the scandal in Zamora. And I had no joy at all in finding a book that tells the story of the many Spains (for in truth as Mary Lee Settle makes clear there is not ONE Spain but many) as though all its rich history grew up naturally--from the stones in the ground. As though this history were but part and parcel of the sights, sounds, and smell of modern Spain. Until, of course, I found this book.

For Mary Lee Settle's book does all of the above. She tells her and Spain's story from the vintage point of an often lost and eternally fascinated traveler. A traveler who romps through the physical Spain and through Spain's history equally and who manages to construct an immensely readable and thoroughly enjoyable book interweaving both journeys.

It is not, however, a history book and it freely admits this. Indeed, perhaps one of the most precious (to me) parts of this book is the frequent history book recommendations. Mary Lee Settle's Spanish Recognitions is thus the ideal book for someone like me: someone who wants to read about Spain's rich history and who would like to travel there armed with historical and cultural knowledge but who is not sure how to get started.

I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: a tour through Spains
Review: This is a lovely account of one lady's tour through a country with which she so rightly tells us "no one in this new millennium should ignore... it was one of the first places mentioned as being stolen from the Muslims in an early televised Osama bin Laden tirade of bitterness and intent. ... Al-Andalus. Andalucia. Spain. Few in this country knew what he was talking about" (255). I (unknowingly following in Mary Lee Settle's footsteps) decided to find out.

Yet it was so difficult to discover any information about post-1492 Spain. I had a hard time finding books telling me about Knights Templar's history and tragic end in Il Torre Sangrienta (the tower of blood); giving me an intimate portrait of Black Virgin's of Guadalupe's haunting eyes; telling me of Unamunno's dramatic defiance of Franco's regime; or telling me the scandal in Zamora. And I had no joy at all in finding a book that tells the story of the many Spains (for in truth as Mary Lee Settle makes clear there is not ONE Spain but many) as though all its rich history grew up naturally--from the stones in the ground. As though this history were but part and parcel of the sights, sounds, and smell of modern Spain. Until, of course, I found this book.

For Mary Lee Settle's book does all of the above. She tells her and Spain's story from the vintage point of an often lost and eternally fascinated traveler. A traveler who romps through the physical Spain and through Spain's history equally and who manages to construct an immensely readable and thoroughly enjoyable book interweaving both journeys.

It is not, however, a history book and it freely admits this. Indeed, perhaps one of the most precious (to me) parts of this book is the frequent history book recommendations. Mary Lee Settle's Spanish Recognitions is thus the ideal book for someone like me: someone who wants to read about Spain's rich history and who would like to travel there armed with historical and cultural knowledge but who is not sure how to get started.

I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Immensely annoying claptrap
Review: This is an immensely annoying book, full of misinformation passed off as fact and truly unique and laughable interpretations of Spanish history and culture. The author fails to check even the most basic spellings (for instance, the composer's name is Maunel da Falla, not de Falla). It is peppered throughout with self-congratulatory references to the author's "research" on the Spanish Civil War and other suspect expertise.

In one chapter she tells the apocryphal story of an American volunteer in the War who, upon finding no empty beds in the Escorial turned hospital, finally finds an empty cot and collapses onto it in sleep only to discover in the morning that he has taken over Philip II's bedroom. Such baloney!

Tapas she describes as appetizers that the Spanish have turned into a meal. What a self-referential hoot!

Elsewhere she accuses a guest at a wedding party of rudeness and arrogance for upbraiding her for turning the rental car she clearly has difficulty managing into a hotel garage driveway in the middle of the wedding party's walk to the reception, blocking its progress. It is shamefully apparent that the rude and arrogant party is the author who is completely incapable of courtesy and unaware of others.

The descriptions of her arrivals at hotels invariably include references to her need for a drink and attendant complaints about her desperation to find space without others, particularly Spaniards, in which to enjoy it.

I must be honest and say that I did not finish the book, one hundred pages having been enough. One good comment I have is that the reading was so loathesome that it makes me want to go to Spain as an antidote for the author's wretched, self-indulgent nonsense.