Novel Suggestions for an Upcoming Spain Trip

'For Whom the Bell Tolls'? It's just been released and you might have trouble finding it.

Ed: I assume you're not talking about the Hemingway version? Do you remember the author?

I suggest "The Pilgrimage" by Paulo Coelho, it is about walking the 790 kilometer Camino de Santiago which I did last May and June. Other books about the Camino, "The Camino" by Shirley MacLaine and "I'm Off Then" by Hape Kerkeling and "Death in the Afternoon" by Hemingway.

For Barcelona, Carlos Ruiz Zafon's "The Shadow of the Wind", or "The Angel's Game."

I think Ed's kidding. For novels, I'll recommend Hemingway – The Sun Also Rises or For Whom the Bell Tolls. I would also suggest you take a look at Michener's Iberia and John Hooper's The New Spaniards (not novels).

I reckon I can't get work as a comic. 'Iberia' would have to top the list, however. It's short, so you ought to be able to polish it off in one evening. (second attempt for guffaws)

Thanks for all the suggestions. I actually have never read "For Whom the Bell Tolls," now could be the time to read this classic. Is it applicable in describing the culture & atmosphere of today also, or purely from the times of the Spanish Civil War?

It's fiction but takes place during the civil war. Read Hooper's book to learn about current and future Spain.

I'll suggest "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. After you read it you'll be anxious to see
Barcelona. Plus, there's a walking-tour map of Barcelona at the end of the book.

Er . . . Bob, I already suggested that one. It is nice to know you agree.

"Ed: I assume you're not talking about the Hemingway version? Do you remember the author?" Were you implying that Ed is as old as Hemingway would have been? (That sound of cymbals is from my back up band.)

Michener's Iberia is a novelized history of the peninsula. I think Ed was talking about Hemingway, it's a good look at an important period of Spanish history. Unfortunately, neither are as light reading as Angels and Demons. You might be able to pick up the Cliff Notes version at a college bookstore. I think it's also a good idea to watch some Spanish films with subtitles. It won't teach you Spanish but it will get you used to their speaking pace, accent and voice inflections you will hear when you get there.

Definitely "Shadow of the Wind" - great story. Even though you're not going to Granada, I enjoyed reading Washington Irving's "Tales from the Alhambra". "Driving over Lemons" is about a Brit moving to a rural part of Spain. For non-fiction, "Ghosts of Spain" is an excellent primer on recent history. I also liked "I'm off then" a memoir of a German guy that hiked the Camino in Northern Spain.

Michener's Iberia is not a novel, but is a detailed and highly readable history/travelogue of this place he loved so much. You can pick it up and open to any page and it makes sense. Read the sections that apply to the towns you will visit, and you will find reason to understand and appreciate them all the more.