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Valencia: A Cultural History
A comprehensive guide to the culture, the history and the people of the Valencian region of Spain. While explicitly not a travel guidebook, the author takes the reader on a town-by-town cultural tour of this complex region, exposing a tortured history as he goes.
- GenresSpain
383 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 22, 2020
Well, that's a first! I've finished a couple of books for which I was the first Goodreads reader, but this one had not even made it on to the database, so I got to add it myself! How is that possible?
I picked this one up in the New Books section of the Main Branch of the Boston Public Library, thinking that I'd thumb through its photos for memories of the trip that my son and I took to Valencia when he was studying in Barcelona in 2018. The book did bring back those memories, but it also grabbed me and obliged me to read its every word.
Michael Eaude was born in London, but lived in Gibraltar as a child. He returned to live in Barcelona in 1989 and has been there ever since. He has written a book similar to this one about Barcelona, among several other volumes. This book is part of a series of such histories, published by a small press in, of all places, Northampton, MA. I will check out others in the series.
Valencia: A Cultural History is a confession of love for a region that is clearly not the author's own. Like all lovers, he has strong opinions about the object of his affection, but he clearly loves Valencia, despite its dark history of religious exclusion, its rampant political corruption, its fascist football fans and its rape of a beautiful Mediterranean coastline in the name of tourist development.
And that's to say nothing of the tragic aftermath of Spain's Civil War. Absent that love, how could one ever immerse oneself in a place to the extent that this author dove into Valencia?
Clearly, with warts like those, a lover of Valencia must find much to recommend it. To help the reader discover the reasons for his enchantment, Eaude takes us on a fascinating tour of the entire region, from the historic center of the nation's third largest city to the virtually depopulated curiosity known as the "Rincón de Ademuz."
Eaude reminds us several times that this is not a guidebook (he recommends only one bar and one hotel in 364 pages of text), but he provides an indispensable resource for a visitor to Valencia interested in much more than a walking tour of the old city or ratings of the best beach resorts. I wish I'd carried this book with me when my son and I did our whirlwind visit.
In taking us up and down the coast and deep into the mountains of Valencia's interior, the author uses the art, literature and architecture of the region to open the door on its often-tragic history. In the beginning, what was to become Valencia only settled down when there was "no one left to massacre" And of course Eaude recognizes that, due to its historical proximity, Spain's Civil War continues to cast a shadow over the entire region. Valencia was a stronghold of Spain's Republic until the bitter end, and many of its people suffered for decades, accordingly.
This book makes no claim to neutrality on any aspect of the rich historical and cultural landscape it exposes. Eaude makes clear his perspective on the war and all of the other tensions that have defined Valencia's history. but I think he succeeds at not allowing his own view to overwhelm the portrait he is trying to present. Perhaps I can say that because I agree with him on most things.
If you are considering a visit to the region, by all means get hold of this book. How else will you know where to find a bit of the Mediterranean not fouled by high-rise hotels, understand why Pope Francis might have gotten it wrong with his off-hand reference to the sexual proclivities of Lucretia Borja and how else could you possibly arrive armed with the knowledge that the hearty homes of the Rincón de Ademuz use the wood of the sabina tree for supporting beams because it is impervious to the dreaded woodworm? And if you wish to take with you a great novel in English set in the region, our man has your well-covered on that, as well.
But I recommend the book even if, like me, you are unlikely to set foot in Valencia in what remains of this life. Because nothing tops a well-written love story, this one may conquer you as it did me.
I picked this one up in the New Books section of the Main Branch of the Boston Public Library, thinking that I'd thumb through its photos for memories of the trip that my son and I took to Valencia when he was studying in Barcelona in 2018. The book did bring back those memories, but it also grabbed me and obliged me to read its every word.
Michael Eaude was born in London, but lived in Gibraltar as a child. He returned to live in Barcelona in 1989 and has been there ever since. He has written a book similar to this one about Barcelona, among several other volumes. This book is part of a series of such histories, published by a small press in, of all places, Northampton, MA. I will check out others in the series.
Valencia: A Cultural History is a confession of love for a region that is clearly not the author's own. Like all lovers, he has strong opinions about the object of his affection, but he clearly loves Valencia, despite its dark history of religious exclusion, its rampant political corruption, its fascist football fans and its rape of a beautiful Mediterranean coastline in the name of tourist development.
And that's to say nothing of the tragic aftermath of Spain's Civil War. Absent that love, how could one ever immerse oneself in a place to the extent that this author dove into Valencia?
Clearly, with warts like those, a lover of Valencia must find much to recommend it. To help the reader discover the reasons for his enchantment, Eaude takes us on a fascinating tour of the entire region, from the historic center of the nation's third largest city to the virtually depopulated curiosity known as the "Rincón de Ademuz."
Eaude reminds us several times that this is not a guidebook (he recommends only one bar and one hotel in 364 pages of text), but he provides an indispensable resource for a visitor to Valencia interested in much more than a walking tour of the old city or ratings of the best beach resorts. I wish I'd carried this book with me when my son and I did our whirlwind visit.
In taking us up and down the coast and deep into the mountains of Valencia's interior, the author uses the art, literature and architecture of the region to open the door on its often-tragic history. In the beginning, what was to become Valencia only settled down when there was "no one left to massacre" And of course Eaude recognizes that, due to its historical proximity, Spain's Civil War continues to cast a shadow over the entire region. Valencia was a stronghold of Spain's Republic until the bitter end, and many of its people suffered for decades, accordingly.
This book makes no claim to neutrality on any aspect of the rich historical and cultural landscape it exposes. Eaude makes clear his perspective on the war and all of the other tensions that have defined Valencia's history. but I think he succeeds at not allowing his own view to overwhelm the portrait he is trying to present. Perhaps I can say that because I agree with him on most things.
If you are considering a visit to the region, by all means get hold of this book. How else will you know where to find a bit of the Mediterranean not fouled by high-rise hotels, understand why Pope Francis might have gotten it wrong with his off-hand reference to the sexual proclivities of Lucretia Borja and how else could you possibly arrive armed with the knowledge that the hearty homes of the Rincón de Ademuz use the wood of the sabina tree for supporting beams because it is impervious to the dreaded woodworm? And if you wish to take with you a great novel in English set in the region, our man has your well-covered on that, as well.
But I recommend the book even if, like me, you are unlikely to set foot in Valencia in what remains of this life. Because nothing tops a well-written love story, this one may conquer you as it did me.
June 27, 2023
A bit of an uneven book. I read it to prep for visit to Valencia and would recommend for that purpose.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews