252 pages
English language
Published Aug. 13, 1969 by Deutsch.
It was 1934 and a young man walked to London from the security of the Cotswolds to make his fortune. He was to live by playing the violin and by labouring on a London building site. Then, knowing one Spanish phrase, he decided to see Spain. For a year he tramped through a country in which the signs of impending civil war were clearly visible. Thirty years later Laurie Lee captured the atmosphere of the Spain he saw with all the freshness and beauty of a young man's vision, creating a lyrical and lucid picture of the beautiful and violent country that was to involve him inextricably.
Haunting evocation of Spain as it was at the start of the Civil War. The author, age 19, sets out from his English village, takes a boat to Vigo and walks to Almunecar, making his living (mostly) by busking with his violin. Poetic descriptions of the landscapes, the heat, the people he meets; the trenchant poverty, religion, the beginnings of the Civil War. Highly recommended.
I love a good historical wanderlust story of adventure and culture, and this one is placed in a very interesting time. It shows a bit of Spain before the war, and gives a bit of understanding on the grounds that where able to cause a civil war.
Laurie describes the landscape and people splendidly, but doesn't go too much into his own emotions and "character development", which deprives the book of the dept that it could also have had. Because of this, 4 stars.
