Spanish Memoirs

- 'This diary, written by my late husband Ernest Postlethwaite, has been published expressly against his wishes, but with the full and hearty endorsement of my family and friends.' - From the introduction to Part One by Pamela Postlethwaite, Javea, Spain, December 2012 This second instalment of Ernest Postlethwaite's ground-breaking journal charters the continuing progress of a man on a mission to achieve cultural and linguistic integration in a small village in southern Spain. As summer approaches, our hero finds himself confronted by undesirable interruptions to the smooth running of his ...

From the author of 'Barry Braithwaite's Last Life', 'Upcote and Smythe', 'Caveman' and more, a hilarious blow-by-blow account of the life of an expatriate Englishman. Ernest Postlethwaite was a man embarking on a new life. No longer for him the routine and drudgery of the commuter. The first part of Ernest Postlethwaite's groundbreaking journal charters the course of a man on a mission to achieve cultural and linguistic integration in a small village in southern Spain. This unadulterated manuscript will bring tears to the eyes of the most hard-hearted among us, as we follow his footsteps ...

In the third part of Ernest Postlethwaite's ground-breaking journal he enters the second year of his life in the small Spanish village of La Puebla de Don Arsenio with the laudable intention of consolidating the considerable progress he feels he has made in his quest to integrate into the community. Anticipating an autumn spent peacefully tilling the land and looking after his livestock, events - and Ernest's nemesis, people - soon conspire to complicate proceedings. This unadulterated manuscript will bring tears to the eyes of the most hard-hearted amongst us, as we follow his continuing ...

Maximiliano. Un emperador en el Cerro de las Campanas nos presenta la vida de aquel austriaco loco, viajero incansable, dilapidador en nombre de nobles causas, amante de la naturaleza y fanático del mar que dejó una profunda huella a su paso por tierras mexicanas. Su imperio fue breve y finalizó de forma trágica; sin embargo, dejó un amplio legado en cuanto a leyes, especialmente a favor de los derechos sociales, la arquitectura y el apoyo a las áreas del campo y la ciencia.

Esta interesante biografía pretende presentar la vida y obra de Francisco José de Caldas, uno de los personajes más importantes de la Nueva Granada, y que pasó a la historia por sus aportaciones a la causa común de la emancipación, así como por sus variados intereses. Una biografía muy interesante. Fue uno de los personajes más notorios en la gesta libertadora.

En Juventud, la segunda parte de las memorias noveladas del premio Nobel de Literatura J.M. Coetzee, el narrador, un estudiante en la Sudáfrica de los años cincuenta, lleva tiempo planeando escapar de su país natal: del sofocante amor de su madre, de un padre cuyos errores lo persiguen y de lo que parece ser una revolución inminente.

Cecilia Toussaint le da voz a Frida Kahlo. Ocho días antes de morir, Frida Kahlo cogió sus pinceles por última vez y escribió sobre la pulpa roja de la sandía: «Viva la vida. Coyoacán, 1954». Pocos meses antes, le habían amputado la pierna derecha y notaba, ahora sí, cómo sus fuerzas desaparecían para siempre, cómo la vida se alejaba de ella. Esta última naturaleza muerta no era casual, era su adiós definitivo, colorido y optimista, como era ella, a pesar de los reveses que la vida le había ido dando hasta entonces.

THE CONTENTED EXPAT is Alan Laycock’s long-awaited follow-up to The Reluctant Expat. Although essentially a sequel, a detailed recap renders it not altogether essential to have read those books in order to enjoy the tale of his action-packed sabbatical in the Asturian seaside town of Lastres. Here Alan’s wife Inma attempts to contain his insatiable curiosity and burning desire to integrate, no matter how much of a fool he makes of himself. Initially he wishes to sail off into the Bay of Biscay with the local fishermen, but as usual things don’t quite work out as he anticipated… Part...

AMAZED BY SPAIN is a light-hearted account of two couples’ unexpected relocation to inland Alicante. Before sisters Sue and Linda inherit a village house in the hills they have little interest in Spain, but on travelling out to see their new possession they begin to warm to the idea of spending time there with their husbands Paul and Bill. After an enjoyable summer holiday the prospect of living in the village becomes irresistible and this book describes their transition from visitors to residents and the diverse selection of people they meet along the way. This amusing and informative ...

When Janet and Colin Paddison move into their dream home in the countryside inland from Valencia they hope to enjoy a tranquil retirement, especially Colin, an ex-librarian whose desire for peace and quiet has been a lifelong obsession. A boarded-up bar in a nearby hamlet has been closed for years, but when Miguelito the builder sets about restoring the place Colin begins to fear the worst. SEEKING SERENITY IN SPAIN is Janet’s humorous and somewhat fanciful account of her husband’s tireless campaign to hinder the new owners’ efforts to shatter their rural idyll. Colin begins by ...

STEADY ON, GEORGE! is the stirring and humorous account of the adventures of two mature men in Spain. Five months after his friend George becomes a widower, 76-year-old Mel Taylor finally gets his new knee into gear and flies out to visit him in Denia. Intending to stay for a couple of weeks, George soon whisks him off on a trip whose consequences threaten to turn his quiet life by the English seaside upside down. Despite the misgivings of his protective daughter Beth, Mel soon finds George’s desire for change and renewal so contagious that previously unthinkable ideas begin to seem quite...

GETTING AHEAD is the third instalment of THE RELUCTANT EXPAT, Alan Laycock’s light-hearted account of his life in Spain. The fourth and final part of Alan’s story is now available.

Enigmática, cautivadora e intimista, la escritura de Clarice Lispector apuntó siempre hacia lo simbólico de las cosas cotidianas y la extrañeza que se esconde en el mundo.

Desde sus humildes comienzos hasta convertirse en un reconocido cantante, actor, productor, político y activista, Mayer comparte sus experiencias, desafíos y triunfos con una gran honestidad. Explora los momentos de duda y superación, las lecciones aprendidas y las decisiones valientes que lo llevaron a reinventarse una y otra vez.

Imprescindible escritor bohemio de idioma alemán, cuya obra, catalogada como una de las más influyentes de la literatura universal a pesar de no ser muy extensa, lo llevó con justicia al Olimpo Literario. Nuestra biografía del autor de La Metamorfosis busca recorrer no sólo su afición por las letras, sino escarbar en su misterioso pasado, lleno de traumas, sombras y destellos de una personalidad fascinante.

THE MAN IN THE TENT – MY LIFE UNDER CANVAS: GETTING STARTED IN SPAIN is the continuation of Tony Beardsall’s light-hearted account of the outdoor life which he commenced at the age of fifty-one. In this stand-alone volume he describes his first months on Spanish soil, from his mobile first winter in eastern Andalusia, through a more static period in the north of Malaga, to further travels in search of the perfect place to settle down, in a tent, of course.Readers of THE MAN IN THE TENT – MY LIFE UNDER CANVAS: THE FIRST FOUR YEARS will be familiar with Tony’s modus operandi, but a ...

In this fourth part of THE MAN IN THE TENT, Tony returns to Spain to lend a hand at his daughter’s language school, among other things, before an unexpected request results in him accompanying a singular individual to his home not far from the Sahara Desert. Later during a lengthy trip to Britain he catches up with friends and family, before teaming up with his old camping guru Malcolm and hitting the road to the Highlands.

En un segundo la vida se fractura y todo se desgarra: crónicas sobre una mujer que sobrevivióa un tsunami; el infierno del atentado a las Torres Gemelas; la cuadriplejia tras un accidentemortal inverosímil; dar a luz con sida; la desaparición de una hija, y tres muertes y una resurrección por covid-19.

En estas páginas acompañamos a Andy Robinson a lo largo de diez terroríficas crónicas de viaje por América, para descubrir la cara oscura del turismo postpandémico, en la que grandes monopolios nacionales y multinacinales controlan hoteles, aerolíneas, cadenas de restaurantes o de entretenimiento, dejando a las comunidades locales al margen.

Corazón, Diario de un Niño, es el clásico universal de la literatura de Edmondo de Amicis. Enrique, chico italiano del siglo XIX, narra a través de su diario escolar todo lo importante que pasa en la escuela con sus compañeros de clase, sus maestros y su familia. Lecciones de amor, valor, honestidad e integridad. Un audiolibro que no puede faltar en la vida de los niños y jóvenes del presente, pues los valores son perennes y universales.