Spanish Lessons: Beginning a New Life in Spain

by Derek Lambert

In the shrewd, comical spirit of Peter Mayle and Bill Bryson, Derek Lambert discovers the charms and idiosyncrasies of Spain as he experiences the rewards and frustrations of beginning a new life there.

Journalist Derek Lambert spent his career as a foreign correspondent covering conflicts around the world while living at one time or another in England, the United States, Russia, Hong Kong, Canada, Ireland, Israel, and Gibraltar. When he decided to settle down to a simpler life as a novelist, he chose Spain, the land that has inspired writers from Cervantes to Hemingway and Michener. Lambert knew Spain was a sun-splashed country with a breathtaking landscape, robust food and wine, and people who have a remarkable zest for living. What he didn't realize when he and his wife and young son arrived in a vibrant village on Spain's Mediterranean Costa Blanca was that learning to live in Spain would prove to be an adventure almost as challenging and eye-opening as any of his journalistic assignments.

In Spanish Lessons , Lambert recounts his first year in Spain with affection for the country and its people, an unerring eye for the distinctive traits of Spanish village life, and a wry, self-deprecating wit that lends his story frequent hilarity. After a too-friendly realtor books him into a "hotel" that turns out to be a brothel, Lambert and his wife are shown a moldering white casita in a citrus grove that wins their hearts. Taking charge of the restoration of their new home, Lambert hires a roofer with a fear of heights, a plumber who is confounded by a blocked pipe and a plasterer who can't work without a blaring boom-box. He also clashes wills with a stubborn-as-a-mule-gardener, faces the region's first snowstorm in ages, battles a lemon-grove fire, and bumbles through Spanish lessons with a mocking classmate who challenges him to a public arm-wrestling competition.

As he is drawn deeper into the rich texture and relaxed rhythm of Spanish life, Lambert uncovers a Spain separate from the the bullfights, tapas bars and flemenco of tourist brochures--a nation still grappling with its dark history, steeped in romance and festivity, where getting things done can always wait until mañana. Ultimately, Lambert's greatest lesson is that Spain derives its mystique not from the well-worn clichés, but from the bewitching character of its passionate, eccentric, often contradictory people.

Unpredictable, filled with humorous incidents, and animated by memorable characters, Spanish Lessons presents a delightful portrait of off-the-tourist-track Spain.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Spain, Biography, Memoir, Biography Memoir

258 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Derek Lambert was educated at Epsom College and was both an author of thrillers in his own name, writing also as Richard Falkirk, and a journalist. As a foreign correspondent for the Daily Express, he spent time in many exotic locales that he later used as settings in his novels.

In addition to his steady stream of thrillers, Lambert also published (under the pseudonym Richard Falkirk) a series about a Bow Street Runner called Edmund Blackstone. These, the fruit of research in the London Library, were interspersed with detailed descriptions of early 19th century low life, as the hero undertook such tasks as saving Princess Victoria from being kidnapped, or penetrating skullduggery at the Bank of England.

Lambert made no claims for his books, which he often wrote in five weeks, simply dismissing them as pot-boilers; but in 1988 the veteran American journalist Martha Gellhorn paid tribute in The Daily Telegraph to his intricate plotting and skillful use of factual material. It appealed, she declared, to a universal hunger for "pure unadulterated storytelling", of the sort supplied by storytellers in a bazaar

Lambert was residing in Spain with his family at the time of his death at the age of seventy-one.

Reviews

[Jennifer B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a foreigner living in Spain, I found this entertaining. It seems rather dated, but if you go into some of the tinier and more remote villages in Spain, it is very much like traveling to the past. This reminded me a lot of "Driving Over Lemons" by Chris Stewart.

[Degan Walters · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terribly written with surpringly few details about Spain.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing account of Derek and his wife’s experiences of setting up home in rural Spain. They purchase a tumbledown house which means they are reliant on the help of the eccentric locals to help them restore and rebuild it. All the characters they encounter are slightly off-beat and Derek and his wife soon stumble upon many of the idiosyncrasies of Spanish life as well as its allure and charm.
Yes, the format has been exhausted but if you are a fan of the Brit seeking a new life genre then you will find this an amusing account. It’s not that fast paced but it does have its moments and it’s the little observations that make this a charming read.
I’m not really sure why the blurb compares it to Bryson – definitely not in that league, or in fact really the same genre, but the Peter Mayle comparison is fair. It does feels a bit more of an account of Lambert’s time out there rather than reading as a flowing narrative like Provence does and it lacks a little of the fluidity of Mayle’s prose. It is almost like Lambert is trying a little too hard to make you laugh and to stress the comical occurrences rather than just to just let the story tell itself as Mayle’s does, but nevertheless, it is still a funny and interesting little read.
However, if I was to recommend a Brit abroad book I would say that this is not a touch on Driving Over Lemons, Chris Stewarts fascinating account of setting up life on a remote farm in the mountains of Andalusia.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every person Lambert and his wife met in Spain somehow managed to be delightfully eccentric; is Spain really like this or does Lambert bring this out in others? No matter. A sparklingly fun read. If I was twenty years younger and single, Spanish Lessons would send me off to join the Lamberts in their new life.

[Albert · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the most boring books I have ever come across. I gave it a try since I am Spanish, although it does describe quite well how rural small towns were a few years ago. Felt like I was reading a dull short story in a newspaper.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. The author made me feel as if I were in Spain.

[Pam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Under the Tuscan Sun meets Denia (Alicante), Spain! Evocative of life on the Iberian Peninsula and charmingly entertaining.

[Nicholas Beck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing earth-shattering here and fairly dated even though it was published in 2000. Lambert details his local adventures in small-town Spain in the 1970's while he was most likely writing The Yermakov Transfer which was published in 1974. (Makes me wonder when he actually wrote this manuscript). Mildly amusing although he comes across as somewhat egotistical as he places himself front and center as the protagonist of most of the episodes he recounts.

[Plum-crazy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining enough read but I have to say just the same as the others I've read on this theme (I'm thinking " A Trip the the Beach:Living on an Island in the Caribbean" & " Cinnamon City") - & the same characters were here again too...builders who build what they want, gardeners who plant what they want -& a general pace of life soooo much slower than that of the UK.

The quote from the review..." he offers an important sense that he and his family are willing parties to the plot he weaves." amuses me...were they?! Their poor son seemed to be left all over the place without a second thought! An amusing read but nothing new.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's another Brit in Spain, book, but so well handled it's gotta be recommended. It takes place down in Spain's somewhat remote southeast corner near Denia, which was the old Roman entry port way back in the day.

I read it when in graduate school in London when I had plenty of other things to be reading, but it went smoothly and quickly -- leaving no guilt with serious assignments coming up.

[Dovofthegalilee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reads like A Year in Provence but it's not a quarter good as that. It's so similar in the fact that it too covers a year in total, meeting the locals, drinking wine, trying to get a house up and running etc. Unfortunately it just never delivered the goods.

[Wendy Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

While some of the anecdotes in this book were amusing, there was a lack of warmth and no sense of love from the author towards his new life. The writing too lacked warmth and was disjointed in places.

[Paddy · Rating 1 out of 5]

One's so tired of Peter Mayle's hackneyed prose, one is almost grateful for a Spanish landscape and a different Anglo family moving to European village and setting up housekeeping. But not quite.

[Kristel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book it's pretty repetitive without lot of new additions to the plot. I skipped over large parts of it because it just wasn't that interesting.

[Christopher Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes books find you at perfect moments in life and "Spanish Lessons" by Derek Lambert found me at that moment in life. I picked this book up at a Goodwill, almost as if it were left there intentionally, just as my wife and I are preparing for our own retirement adventure in Spain next year, with Denia high on our list of possible landing spots. That bit of fate alone lent the reading experience a certain charm.

Lambert's memoir style account of moving to Spain is, admittedly, uneven in its execution. His style doesn't always flow gracefully and the narrative sometimes wanders in ways that feel more like and extended anecdote than a carefully structured book. Lambert does manage to capture the quirks, humor, frustrations, and small triumphs of adapting to Spanish life, moments I'm sure anyone contemplating an international move will recognize with a smile.

The stories he tells are undeniably entertaining; from run-ins with eccentric neighbors to cultural misunderstandings could only exist in sun soaked corners of Spain. It's these snapshots of day to day life that give the book its charm, even if the style won't win any literary awards.

This book is very much a niche read. It's not a must have for every traveler or expat hopeful and its appeal will be strongest for those, like me, who are already dreaming of Mediterranean skies and the laid back way of Spanish living. Not a perfect book, but pleasantly fitting and for me perfectly timed.

[Talea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Derek Lambert had me there with him as he introduced me to all the people in his little town. From the first stolen oranges to the gravel paella to his dismay upon learning everyone was using the number 8 in their version of lottery tickets because it was rumored to be his favorite umber and no one won, he had me hook line and sinker. This book was one that I had to force myself to put down in order to get meals cooked and lessons taught, because I knew if I picked it up it was over. Thankfully I smelled the burning before the casserole was beyond help, and my kids sensing a chance to get away with more counted on me putting off grading as they flew through lessons and to the outdoors. I’m not even mad. It’s worth it.

[Chris Leuchtenburg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although these stories are well told and often amusing, I feel like I learned more about Lambert's personal experiences than about Spain or even about his small corner of Spain. The stories seemed somewhat disconnected and not up to the lofty standards of A Year In Provence or Under the Tuscan Sun. But maybe those bars are too high. I am glad that I read this short book while planning another trip to Spain.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book at our library's used book sale to read on planes and buses on my trip to Spain - some of which was in the exact area where the author and his family had taken up residence. However, I only read a couple of chapters on the trip because the view out windows was far more appealing than reading, which could be accomplished at home. It was lovely to read it several months later and remember the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of Spain.

[Dermo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually enjoy stories of foreigners moving to a new country. this one was a strange mixture of journalism, memoir, and fiction. I find it hard to imagine that everything described in the book actually happened, although I don't doubt there is a basis of truth to everything. anyhow, in many ways it feels true to life,although also historical,based as it is in the early to mid 80s, as far as I can tell
worth a read, just maybe take it with a pinch of salt

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book bored me to tears! The author came across as very full of himself and I call BS on a few of his 'stories'. I also find it ironic that through this book he is writing his 'Trans Siberian Masterpiece', yet looking at his author profile on Goodreads this book has been read by 10x more people and even then the numbers are low. First one-starer of the year!

[Laney Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be light, cute, and somewhat enjoyable. The only thing that really bothered me was the fact that the entire story is written from the authors point of view. There are so many moments where I, as a woman, wonder how his wife really feels. And his 5 year old son is mentioned probably less times than the family dog, which just strikes me as weird.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably 3.5 stars. There were some things that were a bit dated, probably owing to the time period, but other things that reminded me so much of my year in Spain, especially the lottery. It remains one of my regrets that I didn’t buy a decimo (or part of one) of my own.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another book in the genre of English speaking couple buys fixer-upper in foreign country. This one takes place in the province of Alicante in Spain. It is entertaining and at times laugh-out-loud funny. There is a cast of quirky nationals, but mainly the author pokes fun at himself.

[Jan J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book to read while traveling to Spain.

[Ginni Brinkley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hoped for a book similar to Chris Stewart’s but was disappointed.

[Pamela Bottomley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read. What happened next? Surely there is more.

A very enjoyable read. Would love to know what happens next. It seems an ideal book for a series. Shame if not.

[Dave Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

a lively romp following the authors move to Spain and fitting in with the locals, in a post Franco Costa Bravo ... light, enjoyable stuff

[ML Downie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read a few of this genre and this was one of the better ones.

[Jacqueline Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

So funny, true to life excellent portrait of starting a new life in Spain.
Reveals the ups and many downs, hilarious characters and the strength of humans!! Loved it!!

[John Ollerton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m afraid this is pretty poor stuff. A lot feels made up and doesn’t ring true. Also it is poor anecdotal stuff not a patch on the humour and candour of Chris Smith’s Spanish experience.