Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Reading List: Spanish Civil War by Foreigners
1. Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
2. Pagan Spain by Richard Wright (post war)
3. For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
4. Days of Hope by Andre Malraux (skip this one)
1. Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
2. Pagan Spain by Richard Wright (post war)
3. For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
4. Days of Hope by Andre Malraux (skip this one)
Published in 1957, this book is of historical interest really, since it describes a way of Spanish life that is, thankfully, mostly history now (although Spaniards do still have a penchant for religious pageant and prostitution -- Wright is interesting on both of these). It's not a history book though -- it's a very personal view of a country that Wright was not that familiar with. He had done some research, of course, but there's the odd factual error (Charles V's "cathedral" in the Alhambra for example). And his dislike of Catholicism means he does not spend too much time exploring the religious background to the pagan ceremonies he witnesses, but derives his own meanings and symbols from them.
The writing is fresh and unhampered by presuppositions. Perhaps because of his own experience of oppression as a black American, Wright is particularly good at empathising with the women he meets. "Spanish men have built a state," he writes, "but they have never built a society, and the only society that there is in Spain is in the hearts and minds and habits and love and devotion of its women."
Perhaps one of the most striking passages is his long description of a bullfight in Barcelona. Unlike Hemingway, he focuses on the emotional and ritual aspects. It didn't change my mind about the barbarism of the spectacle, but it was interesting to realise that bullfighting is not about fitness, agility, or strength. It's about being capable of standing completely still while a massive, angry bull charges towards you. Wright is able to become engaged in the spectacle while still observing carefully and rationally.
The writing is fresh and unhampered by presuppositions. Perhaps because of his own experience of oppression as a black American, Wright is particularly good at empathising with the women he meets. "Spanish men have built a state," he writes, "but they have never built a society, and the only society that there is in Spain is in the hearts and minds and habits and love and devotion of its women."
Perhaps one of the most striking passages is his long description of a bullfight in Barcelona. Unlike Hemingway, he focuses on the emotional and ritual aspects. It didn't change my mind about the barbarism of the spectacle, but it was interesting to realise that bullfighting is not about fitness, agility, or strength. It's about being capable of standing completely still while a massive, angry bull charges towards you. Wright is able to become engaged in the spectacle while still observing carefully and rationally.
Travel memoir of a Black author in Spain in the 1950s. From his description, the people were deeply religious and their sexuality was repressed.
He attended a bullfight, talked to local young Spaniards who felt trapped, lived in various hotels with difficult landlords.
He attended a bullfight, talked to local young Spaniards who felt trapped, lived in various hotels with difficult landlords.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Really, really cool. Essentially a travel diary, but written by someone with such a mastery of the medium that it reads like something entirely more adventurous.
Extremely dated, weirdly opinionated, and in moments bizarrely argued--Here is an example of one of his many questionable aphorisms sprinkled throughout the text: “Spanish men have built a state, but they have never built a society, and the only society that there is in Spain is in the hearts and minds and habits and love and devotion of its women."--this mid-century report of Wright's travels through Spain during the Franco era is also beautifully observed and often compelling. I find Wright's writing to be most effective when he is describing interactions with the Spanish people and least interesting when he moves into his quasi-psychoanalytic stance. I would have liked to have read more about Wright's experience of traveling through Spain as an African American man. He touches on race a bit, and when he does, his perspective is fascinating and thoughtful. I wish that he had discussed that aspect of his trip more.