Spanish Lessons
How one family found their place in the sun
Published on 6. July 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-0-09-191250-5 (ISBN)
Description
Tired of his life as a globe-trotting journalist, and desperate to finish his latest novel, writer Derek Lambert decides to settle with his new wife and young son in a mouldering casita nestled among citrus groves inland of the Costa Blanca.
As he sets about restoring his house and learning to live the ordinary life of a Spanish villager, Lambert introduces us to a Spain far removed from the tourist traps and thumping discos of the Costas, and soon discovers that adapting to this new life is not as easy as he imagined. He employs a roofer who's afraid of heights, a plumber confounded by a blocked pipe and bumbles through Spanish lessons with a mocking classmate who challenges him to a public arm-wresting contest. Then just when it seems that nothing more could go wrong, the Lamberts face Spain's first snowstorm in many years.
Written in the jaunty, anecdotal style of Peter Mayle and Bill Bryson, this is a warm, affectionate and often hilarious portrait of life as a foreigner in rural Spain.
As he sets about restoring his house and learning to live the ordinary life of a Spanish villager, Lambert introduces us to a Spain far removed from the tourist traps and thumping discos of the Costas, and soon discovers that adapting to this new life is not as easy as he imagined. He employs a roofer who's afraid of heights, a plumber confounded by a blocked pipe and bumbles through Spanish lessons with a mocking classmate who challenges him to a public arm-wresting contest. Then just when it seems that nothing more could go wrong, the Lamberts face Spain's first snowstorm in many years.
Written in the jaunty, anecdotal style of Peter Mayle and Bill Bryson, this is a warm, affectionate and often hilarious portrait of life as a foreigner in rural Spain.
Reviews / Votes
An entertaining read in the vein of Mayle or Bryson... truly gripping * The Times * A great insight into his first year on the Costa Blanca and the traumas that crop up * The Mirror * The comic, anecdotal style of Peter Mayle with the shrewd observation of Bill Bryson...just the thing to take on holiday * The Lady * Delightful * Mail on Sunday * At last a cracking good book by a foreigner who went native in Spain! There are a million homes owned by foreigners in Spain and Spanish Lessons should be in every one * Lookout *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Ebury Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
185 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-09-191250-5 (9780091912505)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2010
1st Edition
Ebury Digital
€6.99
Available for download
Person
The late Derek Lambert was the author of several successful novels. His career as a journalist took him on many adventures around the world, from being shot at in Israel to journeying up the Himalayas in a jeep. He eventually settled in Alicante, Spain, with his wife and son.