Customer Reviews

South from Granada (Kodansha Globe)

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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.

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.

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 set in a facinating section of Southern Spain amid white-washed Berber homes and olive groves. 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.

Although it was first published over half a century ago, Gerald Brenan's "South from Granada" is still considered by many to be the canonical text about the Albujarra region of Spain's Sierra Nevada, the standard against which all other work is judged. Does it deserve its exalted reputation? You'll get no argument from me.

Brenan writes intelligently and fluidly, and his account is always interesting, whether he is writing about his own personal experiences, or about his neighbors and the local customs of the Albujarra. As he was friends with members of the Bloomsbury circle, the book also contains an account of (separate) visits by Lytton Strachey and Virginia Woolf.

The following comments on Woolf nicely illustrate Brenan's perspicacity and generosity, two of the qualities that make this memoir so enjoyable to read:

"I want to emphasize Virginia's real friendliness on this occasion and the trouble she took to advise and encourage me, because her recklessness in conversation -- when she was over-excited she talked too much from the surface of her mind -- made some people think that she lacked ordinary sympathies. I was young for my age, and rather earnest. ... She on the other hand was a writer of great distinction, approaching the height of her powers. Yet she and her husband not only concealed the impatience they must often have felt, but treated me as though I was their intellectual equal."

Based on this book, I'm really looking forward to reading Brenan's writing on the Spanish Civil War.

I highly recommend "South from Granada". Readers with an interest in the region might also enjoy Chris Stewart's "Driving over Leemons".

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.

Arriving in the north of Spain he walked and took the train down to the south where, from looking at a map, he thought that between the Sierras and the sea would be a good place to hunt for a house to rent - The Alpujarras was his destination.

In the years between 1920 and 1934 Brenan lived in Yegen for around 6 years, one of the poorest villages in the Alpujarras. He tells his tale of daily life among the local and very poor villagers showing us the difficulties and hardships the people of the time faced.

The majority of the book is his account of festivals, folk-lore, lively characters and traditions. It's a fascinating account of how the poor of the day lived, without which our knowledge of Spanish history and our understanding would be sadly lacking.

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.