Synopses & Reviews
Part modern social history, part travelogue, Ghosts of Spain is held together by elegant first-person prose
an invaluable book
[that] has become something of a bible for those of us extranjeros who have chosen to live in Spain. A country finally facing its past could scarcely hope for a better, or more enamored, chronicler of its present.”Sarah Wildman, New York Times Book Review The appearance, more than sixty years after the Spanish Civil War ended, of mass graves containing victims of Francisco Francos death squads finally broke what Spaniards call the pact of forgetting”the unwritten understanding that their recent, painful past was best left unexplored. At this charged moment, Giles Tremlett embarked on a journey around the country and through its history to discover why some of Europes most voluble people have kept silent so long. In elegant and passionate prose, Tremlett unveils
the tinderbox of disagreements that mark the country today. Ghosts of Spain is a revelatory book about one
of Europes most exciting countries.
Giles Tremlett is the Guardian's Madrid correspondent. He has lived in, and written about, Spain for the past twenty years. "Spain still has its own particular set of historical ghosts. They, above all, are what makes this country different. What many Spaniards have not yet learned to do, however, is love the idea of their own difference. And that is strange. Because it is precisely why so many outsiders, including this anglosajón, love them so." So end Giles Tremlett's journey through the country he now calls home. And while in the preceding pages he celebrates the willingness of Spanish people to express themselves with passion, he also explores in depth the silence that has gripped the country for more than sixty years. The recent appearance of mass graves containing victims of Francisco Franco's death squads during the Spanish Civil War finally broke what Spaniards call "the pact of forgetting"the unwritten understanding that their recent, painful past was best left unexplored. At this charged moment, Tremlett set out to discover why some of Europe's most voluble people have kept silent for so long. Tremlett unveils the tinderbox of disagreements that mark the country today. Delving into such emotional questions as who caused the Civil War, why Basque terrorists kill, why Catalans hate Madrid, and whether the bombers who killed 190 people in 2004 dreamed of a return to Spain's Moorish tradition, Tremlett finds the ghosts of the past everywhere. At the same time, he offers trenchant observations on more quotidian aspects of Spanish life today: the reasons, for example, Spaniards dislike authority figures but are cowed by a doctor's white coat, and how women have embraced feminism without men noticing. "Spain has a wealth of stories to tell," observes Tremlett, who has written a book about one of Europe's most memorable countries. Giles Tremlett is the Guardian's Madrid correspondent. He has lived in, and written about, Spain for the past twenty years. "[An] affectionate, deeply informed tour of the country that has been [Giles Tremlett's] home for 20 years . . . Mr. Tremlett's searching examination of the Franco years and their legacy make a somber backdrop for an otherwise cheery tale. Having summoned the ghosts, he moves along to offer a guided tour of modern Spain, making stops at the usual journalistic destinations. The educational system, politics, health care, child rearing and the national character are dealt with in well-organized chapters that move the reader briskly along from the Basque country to Catalonia, from flamenco bars to neon-lighted roadside whorehouses, from the ghastly tourist traps of the Costa del Sol to the Galician clothing factories of Amancio Ortega, Spain's richest and most reclusive tycoon . . . Ghosts of Spain provides a highly informative, well-written introduction to post-Franco Spain. Mr. Tremlett's taut recounting of the 2004 train bombings in Madrid makes especially timely reading, with the suspects now on trial."William Grimes, The New York Times Book Review "[An] incisive and engaging book . . . [Tremlett's] sober analysis of how the Madrid train bombings of March 11, 2004 . . . exposed deep fissures in Spanish society is the best report I've read on the subject . . . [A]n invaluable book. Indeed, since it appeared in Britain last year, Ghosts of Spain has become something of a bible for those of us extranjeros who have chosen to live in Spain. A country finally facing its past could scarcely hope for a better, or more enamored, chronicler of its present."Sarah Wildman, The New York Times Book Review "Mr. Tremlett['s] . . . affectionate yet critical intimacy with the country helps to make this book much more than an ordinary journalistic survey . . . Extended residency has . . . allowed Mr. Tremlett to gather off-beat stories distinctly revealing of his adopted land."Francis X. Rocco, The Wall Street Journal "This well traveled journalist . . . knows his subject as he ventures through the past to explain the present personality of a country so varied that even in modern times its complicated medieval legacy is part of everyday life."Ann Geracimos, The Washington Times "Tremlett has written a smart and highly readable book that mixes incisive political history with sophisticated cultural reporting."Robin Updike, Seattle Times "Tremlett is as sound on social history as he is on recent politics. Ghosts of Spain is a book of remarkable scope . . . carried along by the author's enthusiasm for his subject and his determination to capture this contemporary Spanish moment. It is a quest in which he succeeds brilliantly, and he emerges as a worthy member of that band of writers, from Richard Ford and Ernest Hemingway to Gerald Brenan and Michael Jacobs, who have fallen for Iberia. Ghosts of Spain is a warts-and-all love letter from someone who hopes never to recover from the coup de foudre."Sunday Times (London) "Tremlett, Madrid correspondent for the Guardian, went native almost immediately upon his arrival in Spain twenty years ago. He wants us to see, hear, touch, and taste exactly why . . . there are pages here on almost every exemplary, cautionary, and symbolic aspect of Old Spain and New."John Leonard, Harper's "[A] provocative and vividly written book that is part history, part political and social commentary, and part love letter."Library Journal
Review
Praise for Ghosts of Spain: "[Tremlett] paints a rich, multicolored canvas of one of Europe's most fascinating nations."—Entertainment Weekly"This well traveled journalist…knows his subject as he ventures through the past to explain the present personality of a country so varied that even in modern times its complicated medieval legacy is part of everyday life." —Washington Times (Ann Geracimos)
"Tremlett has written a smart and highly readable book that mixes incisive political history with sophisticated cultural reporting."—Seattle Times (Robin Updike)
"[An] incisive and engaging book….[Tremlett's] sober analysis of how the Madrid train bombings of March 11, 2004...exposed deep fissures in Spanish society is the best report I've read on the subject….[A]n invaluable book. Indeed, since it appeared in Britain last year, 'Ghosts of Spain' has become something of a bible for those of us extranjeros who have chosen to live in Spain. A country finally facing its past could scarcely hope for a better, or more enamored, chronicler of its present."—New York Times Book Review (Sarah Wildman)
" [An] affectionate, deeply informed tour of the country…. a highly informative, well-written introduction to post-Franco Spain. Mr. Tremletts taut recounting of the 2004 train bombings in Madrid makes especially timely reading, with the suspects now on trial."—New York Times (William Grimes)
"Mr. Tremlett['s]...affectionate yet critical intimacy with the country helps to make this book much more than an ordinary journalistic survey….Extended residency has...allowed Mr. Tremlett to gather off-beat stories distinctly revealing of his adopted land."—Wall Street Journal (Francis X. Rocco)
"[A] provocative and vividly written book that is part history, part political and social commentary, and part love letter….This book should be in all public and academic library collections on Spanish history and culture." -Library Journal
"Tremlett…went native almost immediately upon his arrival in Spain twenty years ago. He wants us to see, hear, touch, and taste exactly why….there are pages here on almost every exemplary, cautionary, and symbolic aspect of Old Spain and New."—Harpers (John Leonard)
"[A]n evocative, often poignant sojourn through the as-yet uncleared psychic mists of the civil war."—Star-Tribune (Michael J. Bonafield)
Synopsis
The appearance, more than sixty years after the Spanish Civil War ended, of mass graves containing victims of Francisco Franco’ s death squads finally broke what Spaniards call “ the pact of forgetting” — the unwritten understanding that their recent, painful past was best left unexplored. At this charged moment, Giles Tremlett embarked on a journey around the country and through its history to discover why some of Europe’ s most voluble people have kept silent so long.
Ghosts of Spain is the fascinating result of that journey. In elegant and passionate prose, Tremlett unveils the tinderbox of disagreements that mark the country today. Delving into such emotional questions as who caused the Civil War, why Basque terrorists kill, why Catalans hate Madrid, and whether the Islamist bombers who killed 190 people in 2004 dreamed of a return to Spain’ s Moorish past, Tremlett finds the ghosts of the past everywhere. At the same time, he offers trenchant observations on more quotidian aspects of Spanish life today: the reasons, for example, Spaniards dislike authority figures, but are cowed by a doctor’ s white coat, and how women have embraced feminism without men noticing.
Drawing on the author’ s twenty years of experience living in Spain, Ghosts of Spain is a revelatory book about one of Europe’ s most exciting countries.
Synopsis
"Part modern social history, part travelogue, "Ghosts of Spain "is held together by elegant first-person prose...an invaluable book... that] has become something of a bible for those of us "extranjeros "who have chosen to live in Spain. A country finally facing its past could scarcely hope for a better, or more enamored, chronicler of its present."-Sarah Wildman, "New York Times Book Review "
""The appearance, more than sixty years after the Spanish Civil War ended, of mass graves containing victims of Francisco Franco's death squads finally broke what Spaniards call "the pact of forgetting"-the unwritten understanding that their recent, painful past was best left unexplored. At this charged moment, Giles Tremlett embarked on a journey around the country and through its history to discover why some of Europe's most voluble people have kept silent so long. In elegant and passionate prose, Tremlett unveils
the tinderbox of disagreements that mark the country today. "Ghosts of Spain "is a revelatory book about one
of Europe's most exciting countries.
Synopsis
An invaluable book . . . A country finally facing its past could scarcely hope for a better, or more enamored, chronicler of its present.-Sarah Wildman, New York Times Book Review
The appearance, more than sixty years after the Spanish Civil War ended, of mass graves containing victims of Francisco Franco's death squads finally broke what Spaniards call the pact of forgetting-the unwritten understanding that their recent, painful past was best left unexplored. At this charged moment, Giles Tremlett embarked on a journey around the country and through its history to discover why some of Europe's most voluble people have kept silent so long.
In elegant and passionate prose, Tremlett unveils the tinderbox of disagreements that mark the country today. Ghosts of Spain is a revelatory book about one of Europe's most exciting countries.
Synopsis
“Part modern social history, part travelogue, Ghosts of Spain is held together by elegant first-person prose…an invaluable book…[that] has become something of a bible for those of us extranjeros who have chosen to live in Spain. A country finally facing its past could scarcely hope for a better, or more enamored, chronicler of its present.”—Sarah Wildman, New York Times Book Review The appearance, more than sixty years after the Spanish Civil War ended, of mass graves containing victims of Francisco Francos death squads finally broke what Spaniards call “the pact of forgetting”—the unwritten understanding that their recent, painful past was best left unexplored. At this charged moment, Giles Tremlett embarked on a journey around the country and through its history to discover why some of Europes most voluble people have kept silent so long. In elegant and passionate prose, Tremlett unveils
the tinderbox of disagreements that mark the country today. Ghosts of Spain is a revelatory book about one
of Europes most exciting countries.
About the Author
Giles Tremlett is the Guardians Madrid correspondent. He has lived in, and written about, Spain for the past twenty years.