Castle in Spain

by Matthew Parris

An Englishman's castle

Genres: Nonfiction, Spain

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book immensely, and wanted to buy some copies for my Catalan friends as gifts. ( I have lived in Catalunya for the past 11 years. I thought that it would be nice to also include the audio book (read by the author himself) so they could read it and listen at the same time. Luckily I decided to listen to it myself first - otherwise they may well have lynched me! The pronunciation of Catalan place names was appalling and REALLY got on my nerves. Montseny became Montseni, Vic - Beak on so on. If you have never been to Catalunya and don't plan on ever going there, this small lapse of preparation won't matter a jot, listen on and enjoy the audiobook. However if you have been there, or plan on visiting it - stick with the book - because it's brilliant!

[Oliver Cape · Rating 3 out of 5]

Documenting the restoration of a fortified medieval mansion in Catalunya.
This was a gift from my folks for starting my job at the local bookshop. Overall, it’s a story about overcoming barriers and persevering towards a goal.
Oddly he kept the building side of things at arms length, preferring to indulge in local history and culture. However, when he did focus on building, it was written in a vague yet digestible manner. The general tone was very light and jovial, which made the project as a whole seem less daunting. He admits to being a bit jammy- leaving the real painstaking stuff to his sister and husband; which becomes evident in her epilogue.
My favourite scene from the book is his birthday party outside of the house. The notion of dancing from Mediterranean dusk till dawn made me feel a little toastier in our increasingly cold weather.

[Adam Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a personal rating as I know some of the places described and Parris's love for the mountainous interior of Catalunya shines through.

For anyone not so personally invested, I can imagine this would be uneven and hard going in some places. Parris explicitly shies away from the tropes of comedic struggles of expat life - Driving Over Lemons being the chief example for Spain - in favour of occasionally quite knotty explorations of how the project to rescue a medieval building took over his family´s life.

It's a refreshing and brave choice but ultimately the clichés are cliché for a reason and this isn't likely to have much broad appeal for anyone isn't a big fan of Parris himself or knows Catalunya well.

[Nanni Sender · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this style of writing. I'm there with Matthew, digging for water, looking at the moon through the holes in the derelict castle. The descriptions were so vivid, his assessments so fair, that reading his book often felt like a nice relaxing warm bath. I've also got a better understanding of Catalonian politics, a more something take than the general attitude in Spain that the Catalans need to get over themselves and grow up a bit. However, I do find descriptions of footpaths impossible. Whatever I imagine in my mind's eye is bound to look very different on the ground. And yes, I understand that this book was about restoring a grand house, but so much detail was a bit exhausting. And I think his mother is the actual superstar in the story. She sounds amazing.

[Sam Romilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth reading for a knowledge of a particular spot of Catalunya, together with a good summary of the history of that land. Certainly will make visiting the area much more interesting. However it comes across more as an interesting set of stories linked together by the never ending project to restore the house. The fact even after a second edition the project is still not finished makes it slightly frustrating. Some of the stories could probably have been dropped especially regarding the footpaths and cave explorations as while well written are not that relevant to the subject.

[Mark Hancock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just re-read this book after more than 10 years - at L'Avenc! I loved it the first time and have found it even more interesting and moving in situ.
Parris is a great writer. His background in journalism seems to have allowed him to develop a clear, engaging style.
Many thanks indeed, Mr Parris.

[Rowena C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was all set to give Parris a solid 4 stars but it was his sister Belinda's side of the story that nailed it for me. I only wish I had read this before staying at l'Avenc. The magnitude of their undertaking blows the mind!

[DCT · Rating 5 out of 5]

castles in Spain

Combined the heart ache of Project with the delight in its completion.
Very Glad not to have had the responsibility

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have preferred more detail about the house restoration but really enjoyed reading about the history of the house and the area.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This not a travel book, more a book about restoring a house in a foreign country. It is a book about a dream, of going on holiday to the same place year after year and looking longingly at una masa, an old country house, and thinking ‘what if’, and then one day going on holiday and seeing a ‘se vende’ sign. The house, L’Avenc’, almost inevitably turns out to be a black hole for euro notes. In a tale familiar to anyone who has ever taken on a labour of love in a foreign country, Parris describes the battles with the house, the countryside, and his own common sense in the easy-to-read style we have come to know from his work as a journalist and broadcaster in the UK. Half the house in Catalonia is Gothic, half Renaissance, most of it is slumped though solid. But it is the water supply that turns into a bigger problem than the stone walls and foundations. Parris obviously loves it. He says in the introduction, ‘[This] is a book about a house. I have written it because I think the house matters… L’Avenc is the strong character in these pages. L’Avenc is the personality I want to introduce, the individual I hope you will remember.’
For more about our life in Andalucía, see www.notesonaspanishvalley.com

[Ralph Lavelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

We found this in our local library in Brisbane, researching for our upcoming trip to Cataluña, and three months later stayed there, so this book, which you can buy copies of at L'Avenc itself, is pretty close to our hearts.

The most interest chapter is probably the one on Cataluña since the rest are mainly about the house and local area but it is an fascinating story for anyone curious about what it would take (answer: a hell of a lot) to restore a clifftop manse nearly a millennium old.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for books like this and I love when they crossover places I've been but sadly this book misses the point at times. I want to hear what problems there were, I want to know the details but the author just skips over them and writes historical waffle instead, opportunity lost...

[Barbara Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating insight into dreams, building restoration and human nature. DO NOT confuse with a Year in Provence / Walking on Lemons etc