How Not To Live Abroad [Mass Market Paperback]

Shaun Briley (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Citadel (May 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806525878
• ISBN-13: 978-0806525877
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,847,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I still laugh when I think of this book!, August 22, 2006

By 

Donna Giavon (Colorado (pooing on Focus on Family building)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Not To Live Abroad (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this in two days!The author documents his move to a small rustic town in southern spain in which he and his girlfriend buy a small home. The accounts of the people he meets and much of the miscommunications between him and the people are very personable and humorous. The author is an English-American so he comes from a mixed viewpoint which means you can identify both with his reflections as well as his initial impressions of the people he meets. I still laugh when I think of his misadventures!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Travelogue of Sorts, September 27, 2005

By 

read2go - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Not To Live Abroad (Mass Market Paperback)

I think the author wrote this book as an act of revenge for what his girlfriend did to him while they were living together in a rural farmhouse in Spain.

It makes for thoughtful reading on what can go wrong if you live far away from the creature comforts of life with electricity, water & food on tap and take it for granted. The author lives in an outlying rural region without any connection to electricity and tap water is from a well. To confound things, the land is not very fertile, as summers can be very hot and rains are not frequent. Only certain types of vegetation can thrive.

I would label this book as "Survivor with Realism" theme. Not your normal "Survivor" series, but what is actually required of you given the constraints of nature. It is not your normal expatriate living abroad squabbling with builders, engaging with townfolk though there is some episodes on that, enjoying wine types of Peter Mayle's world.

A good read if you want to know how the rest of rural Spain lives.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The reality check version of living abroad, June 22, 2009

By 

Preacher Girl "Can't Stop Reading" (Mitford) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Not To Live Abroad (Mass Market Paperback)

If you are looking to read a book about living as an ex-pat in Spain that 1) will make you laugh AND 2) leave you somewhat envious of the author and his life abroad then this book is definitely not for you. Instead, I would heartily recommend Chris Stewart's books, Driving Over Lemons, A Parrot in a Pepper Tree, and The Almond Blossom Appreciation Society.

If, however, you a are looking for a book about living as an ex-pat in Spain that 1) makes you laugh, and 2) makes you grateful that it wasn't you then read How Not To Live Abroad. It took me awhile to appreciate this book because I was expecting another Chris Stewart book. Once I got past that and accepted the book in its own right I enjoyed it very much. The author comes across as likeable. I especially enjoyed the scenes that included Emilio (a sage), Myrtle (an American ex-pat who was eccentrically hilarious), and Antonio the Schoolteacher (hilarious pronunciation of English).

If you enjoy travel narratives and are also interested in Italy, I cannot recommend the Extra Virgin series by Annie Hawes enough. The three books in the series are simply wonderful.