Here is my latest blog for Booktrust:
Although we may hear little about Spanish fiction in the UK, we arguably hear even less about Spanish history written by Spanish writers themselves. Hispanists in this country are well acquainted with the likes of Raymond Carr, Hugh Thomas, Paul Preston and Antony Beevor, but will probably not associate Spanish writer Javier Cercas with non-fiction.
Published on 17-01-11. Read on here
Here is my first blog for Booktrust:
Sometimes the prospect of reading a translated novel can seem a bit overwhelming, but it’s not all about the War and Peace’s and Don Quixote’s of this world. Many of you will have come across Lucia Graves’ beautiful translation of Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s The Shadow of the Wind (La Sombra del Viento), but here I hope to draw attention to a taste of some lesser-known delights from peninsular Spain.
For anyone interested in the history of the Spanish Civil War, you cannot get much better than Juan Goytisolo. Although he has written many great novels, Marks of Identity (Señas de Identidad) tells the story of a Spanish exile’s return from Paris to his family home in Barcelona and provides a fantastic introduction to just some of the literature which was inspired by the Civil War and Franco’s dictatorship. Another worthwhile read is Soldiers of Salamis (Soldados de Salamina) by Javier Cercas, which humanely reveals how the Civil War has permeated Spain’s modern-day conscious. Anne McLean’s translation of the novel was notably awarded the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in 2004.
Published on 14-06-10. Read on here
Here is my first article published in the Guardian
We are a nation of monoglots, this we know all too well. Certainly, as a British-born and UK-educated university graduate in Spanish and Russian, with a smattering of other languages, my polyglotism is an enviable trait in this country.
Of course, the pervasive nature of English, much of it down to globalisation and Americanisation in recent years, has made the purpose of foreign-language learning somewhat redundant here. It is the unofficial business language and a default language for most people, wherever you are in the world. For those still interested in learning other languages, by virtue of nationality most other countries are light years ahead on the language learning front. For them English is a language of survival, whereas for us, foreign languages are not.
Published on 12-02-10. Read on here
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