The Train in Spain

Reviews / Votes

On his 3,000 mile trip around Spain, [Christopher Howse] is less benevolent than Michael Palin and, much more interestingly, a blend of two great travel writers, the magisterial literary flaneur Norman Douglas and the romantically nostalgic Norman Lewis * The Times * Christopher Howse has a good eye for detail... [and] a wealth of historical, etymological (every place name is explained) and statistical information at his fingertips... This book is an interesting read for anyone who loves Spain. * The Oldie * This is a book by a man who both understands and loves Spain, the way time expands there, so that, as Gerald Brenan once said, an hour in Spain can seem like a week in another country. It is worth buying alone for the descriptions of hearty traditional dishes, more valuable than all the arcane inventions of Ferran Adria...This is a small classic, worth its place on the shelf alongside the works of the other great eccentric British hispanophiles, Richard Ford, George Borrow and Gerald Brenan. * The Spectator * His description of scenes Spanish will often have his readers smiling, and sometimes laughing aloud. His book is essential reading for those following him to those parts, whether they risk doing so by train or not. * The Tablet * Christopher Howse, in his offbeat book The Train in Spain, prefers slow trains, and particularly those that meander along single tracks in obscure parts of the country. * Times Literary Supplement * We come to love his quiet and self-effacing personal honesty, the unhurried pace, the acutely observant eye, the dry non-judgmental humour and the opening up of obscure alleyways of knowledge * Daily Telegraph * His has been an illuminating odyssey through a country he obviously loves. He rekindles the desire to visit Spain and provides a charmingly erudite companion for the journey. * Standpoint *