A bewildering array of guidebooks attempts to cover the whole of Spain, but a country that varies this much — from its Basque and Catalan north to the Arab-inspired Andalus of the south — presents formidable challenges. The Rough Guide to Spain (Rough Guides £14.99) provides the best all-round coverage of attractions and places to sleep and eat, while also explaining Spain’s history and the challenges it faces in the 21st century.
If you are heading for Andalusia, then take Michael Jacobs’s Andalucia (Pallas Athene £16.99). Jacobs knows the region as well as any writer and is the author of several books on the region’s history and architecture, and on his own travels. This breadth of knowledge and a passion for the region is evident on every page of his Andalusia guide, whether he is explaining the finer points of the Alhambra’s architecture, luring you to a little-visited mountain village or standing up for the region’s underrated cuisine.
NOVELS
If you read only one novel about Spain, it has to be Miguel de Cervantes’s 17th-century classic Don Quixote (Vintage £9.99). The story of the adventures of Don Quixote de la Mancha and his squire, Sancho Panza — encapsulated by the iconic moment when the noble knight goes tilting at windmills — was begun while the author was in a debtors’ prison, which explains why it has such satirical bite. Over the centuries, the deluded knight has come to represent much that is noble in the Spanish character. The novel remains a wonderful read, especially in Edith Grossmann’s sparkling new translation.
A story set in Barcelona about a cemetery of books is not obvious material for commercial success, yet Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s The Shadow of the Wind (Phoenix £7.99) is currently one of Europe’s bestsellers. The reason? It is cleverly constructed, packed with surprises and told with pace. The key to Zafon’s success, however, is the power of his characters, particularly the protagonist, Daniel, who finds his life taken over by a book he adopted at the age of 10. By turns scary and thrilling, entertaining and tragic, The Shadow of the Wind packs so many pleasures that I, for one, was able to forgive what I found to be a disappointing ending.
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Manuel Vazquez Montalban’s great creation, Pepe Carvalho, is a gourmand, a heavy drinker, a serial lover and a cynic. He is also a great detective. One of the most engaging heroes to have graced a crime novel, he appeared in more than 20 novels before the death of his creator in 2003. Southern Seas (Serpent’s Tail £6.99) sees Pepe hunting the killers of a wealthy businessman whose body was found in a Barcelona suburb. The story is taut and the characters are irresistible, while the background throws light on many aspects of contemporary Spain, from the seedy underbelly to the indiscreet charms of the bourgeoisie.
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BIOGRAPHY
There are many ways to learn about the single most significant event of modern Spanish history — the civil war — but few are as enlightening or as entertaining as George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia (Penguin £7.99). Orwell drew on his own experiences fighting the fascists to create one of the most vivid descriptions of the war. Particularly moving is the infighting between the various anti-fascist groups. Orwell excelled at pointing out the larger picture in small events, and this magnificently told story is no exception.
TRAVEL
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My favourite travel book about Spain is also one of my favourite travel books of all time. The late, lamented Norman Lewis arrived on the Costa Brava in the aftermath of the second world war, before anyone thought of covering it in concrete. In Voices of the Old Sea (Picador £7.99), he describes the wonders and hardships of village life, as his friends struggle to live off whatever they can catch in the sea or cultivate alongside it. Lewis was a master of characterisation, and this story of a way of life about to vanish is made compelling by the portraits he brings to life.
Chris Stewart had the definitive hard-luck story to tell. He was the man who left the rock band Genesis just before they made it big, then settled down to a life of poverty as a sheep-shearer. Driving over Lemons (Sort Of Books £5.99), however, is not a fist-shake at outrageous fortune, but an entertaining account of what happened when he moved his family to a remote valley in Andalusia. Packed with local colour — cheating farmers, peasant cooking, great empty landscapes — it is a heart-warming, good-time tale.
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