South from Granada

Rating:
Summary: A book of remarkable insight and information .
Review: As a British ExPat, living in rural Andalucia, I find Brenan's observations of the Spanish character and way of life still very relevant and curiously haunting in this, the first decade of the third millenium.
The Historical movements of ancient peoples from Andalucia to Northern Europe, and their relevance to modern racial makeup, prove also fascinating.
Altogether; a somewhat 'dry' book, but well worth reading especially if you have an interest, and some knowlege, of Southern Spain.

Rating:
Summary: Life in Las Alpujarras
Review: At once a travel memoir, a work of anthropological observation, and an account of becoming a writer, Brennan's account of life in a Spanish Village in the 1920's is acutely observed. Rich in its account of the culture of the region, South from Granada also contains wry descriptions of the visits of various members of the Bloomsbury group (Lytton Strachey, Dora Carrington, Leonard and Virgina Woolfe) who, with varying degrees of adaptability, are confronted with the rather basic ammenities of the village. Strong, clear writing makes for an evocative read.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Look at an Facinating People
Review: I bought this book in preparation for a trip to Andalucia this summer. What I found was one of the best character studies I have ever read. This would be the father of the "Year in Provence" type of book. Don't worry about the chapters on the visits from various famous writers (Virginia Wolfe, etc.) as they can be skipped without dimishing from the work at all. Nonetheless, I enjoyed them despite having absolutely no interest in Lytton-Strachy, et al.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Look at an Facinating People
Review: I bought this book in preparation for a trip to Andalucia this summer. What I found was one of the best character studies I have ever read. This would be the father of the "Year in Provence" type of book. Don't worry about the chapters on the visits from various famous writers (Virginia Wolfe, etc.) as they can be skipped without dimishing from the work at all. Nonetheless, I enjoyed them despite having absolutely no interest in Lytton-Strachy, et al.

Rating:
Summary: A Mastery of English
Review: This book surely has its ethnographic merits, but there's another great reason to read it. Gerard Brenan is one of the most elegantly simple writers in the English language. The economy of his prose that never feels hurried perfectly suits the man for his observations of the unhurried, simple life he describes.

Rating:
Summary: An anecdotal remembrance of life in a Andalusian village
Review: This work is more an anecdotal remembrance than a seamless flowing memoir. I wouldn't recommend this book as a first book about Spain, but I do think it is valuable for its knowledge about small Andalusia pueblo life in the twenties. In this it is very well written. The author is at his best describing the life, social mores and incredible natural panorama of the Sierra Nevada. I found the chapters dealing with his various visitors (English intellectual figures) uninteresting. I'll speculate that when it was published in the 50's that this was probably of more interest- now, with the exception of Virginia Woolf, these individuals are dimly remembered personages.