You won't be disappointed
|
This book paints an incredible picture of Spain in the 1930s; poor, under- developed and on the brink of civil war. A genuine, reflective, thoughtful tale, what an incredible adventure it must have been.
I wish I'd done it...
|
|
|
LAURIE LEE As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning
|
Widely regarded as one of the greatest examples of travel writing ever made, 'As I walked out one midsummer morning' is a massively engaging book.
At once visceral, heartfelt, honest, bursting with humanity and in some part disturbing, this account of a young man's walk through the Spain of the 1930s is a vicarious experience that transports the reader into an unforgettable but lost world.
There are occasions when Lee seems to have arrived at truly momentous turning points. After crossing the Guadarrama peaks he first sees Madrid in the plain of La Mancha and his knowledge of Spain is to become transformed by his experience of the capital. And then later, when he meets a Spanish sailor who portentiously warns "I don't know who you are, but if you want to see blood, stick around -you're going to see plenty."
Lee's politics are not overtly expressed, but his love of the people and their way of life is clear. Written later and first published in 1969, a lesser writer would have a built in nostalgia for a lost ideal, but not so here. His record of the Spanish rural way of life is far from idealistic.
This is a book that I would recommend to all readers, young and old alike, and is one of the best books that I have ever read.
|
|
|
A forgotten style
|
A style of writing that we dont see much these days. So much description that you almost feel heady. The warmth of the sun and the total atmosphere of old Spain were almost tangible.
A very relaxed writing by a young man with a zest for life and discovery.
Also a great book for anyone studying the Spanish civil war and the mood of the country beforehand,not from the politician's and historian's point of view,but an ordinary person's.
One of those books I would read again just for the descriptive narrative.
|
|
|
'As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning'
|
|
I first read this book in 1970 and just like one reviewer said,'Beware though as this book may make you want to give it all up and set off with your knapsack', well I did just that. In 1973/74 I travelled through 'Laurie Lee's Spain and it was just as I imagined it would be. This book for me evoked the essence of Spain of that time. Lee is an excellent writer, not only of novels but of poetry. I have re-read it many time since and it still evokes those feelings of wanting to go and explore. I'm thankful that I did do just that.
|
|
An odd little book
|
I managed to finish reading this the second time I picked it up. It was a case of putting it to rest, or else, sometime in the future I'd feel compelled to try again - and then, maybe I'd have to start from scratch. And I haven't got the energy to do that again.
While I enjoyed the honeyed recollections of 'Cider with Rosie', 'As I walked..." is by far a more difficult read. For a start it's oddly balanced. Why - I wonder - bother with the time spent travelling to and staying in London, when the pertinent focus of the book is his time spent in Spain? The end is a terrible cliff-hanger, which I suppose would encourage the interested reader to pick up the next installment 'A Moment of War'. Not me, I'm afraid.
In comparison with the rosy recollections of his childhood in Slad, Lee's vision of Spain is on a par with Dante's Hell. Everywhere is in a state of physical decay and moral decline. Throughout his journey he accepts the generosity of impoverished folks across the country, but shows little gratitude or appreciation on the printed page for this quality in the Spanish people. He appears quite dispassionate about what he sees. I find the claim that he mastered a fluency in Spanish after only a short time into his year-long journey, little short of a miracle. I understand there is a controversial idea that Lee did not, in fact, do all that he said he did, which includes his alleged later involvement in fighting Fascists in the Civil War. The growing presence of the impending Civil War arrives too late in the book to save me from boredom. I personally found this book a pompous, self-satisfying bore.
|
|
|
United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada