Espanha

by Jan Morris, Raquel Mouta (Tradutora)

Literatura de viagens por uma autora multipremiada.
Dupla viagem no tempo e no espaço.

Genres: Travel, Spain, Nonfiction, History, Geography, Spanish Literature, British Literature

245 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Jan Morris was a British historian, author and travel writer. Morris was educated at Lancing College, West Sussex, and Christ Church, Oxford, but is Welsh by heritage and adoption. Before 1970 Morris published under her assigned birth name, "James ", and is known particularly for the Pax Britannica trilogy, a history of the British Empire, and for portraits of cities, notably Oxford, Venice, Trieste, Hong Kong, and New York City, and also wrote about Wales, Spanish history, and culture.

In 1949 Jan Morris married Elizabeth Tuckniss, the daughter of a tea planter. Morris and Tuckniss had five children together, including the poet and musician Twm Morys. One of their children died in infancy. As Morris documented in her memoir Conundrum, she began taking oestrogens to feminise her body in 1964. In 1972, she had sex reassignment surgery in Morocco. Sex reassignment surgeon Georges Burou did the surgery, since doctors in Britain refused to allow the procedure unless Morris and Tuckniss divorced, something Morris was not prepared to do at the time. They divorced later, but remained together and later got a civil union. On May, 14th, 2008, Morris and Tuckniss remarried each other. Morris lived mostly in Wales, where her parents were from.

Reviews

[David Canford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This non fiction book is in typical Jan Morris style - descriptive and imaginative prose. First written in the 1960s, she updated it in the 1970s. It gives a feeling of Franco’s Spain and she doesn't seem particularly critical of his regime, although to be fair it was only after his death that much more became known about the atrocities his side committed since history isn’t written by the losing side. She is sceptical democracy will thrive in Spain. Fortunately, she has been proved wrong. The book is good but I prefer James Michener’s Iberia which I am currently reading.

[Vilis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ļoti lēnām lasāma un skaisti uzrakstīta Spānijas kultūras vēstures grāmata, kurā personiskie iespaidi sajaucas ar leģendām par svētajiem, kas atstāstītas kā īstākie fakti.

[Mark Colenutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a one-stop read on Spain. Probably no book this short can offer as much insight and you have Morris' writing style as well. Naturally, the country has an enormous history from its Iberian settlement through it phases of Phoenician and Greek development spurred on by Mediterranean trade. Then it became Rome's most important outpost after the Carthiginian's were finally defeated just outside Seville. Then Rome delcined and fell opening the way for the occupations by Germanic tribes. Following that, there were the famous seven centuries of Moorish Al-Andalus domination. With the Reconquest of Spanish lands from the Muslims, came the discovery of the New World, new found wealth and fresh rounds of European conflict both with England and the Low Countries. After Spain's Super Power status faded the country sank into centuries of unstable political strife and eventually Napoleonic invasion, which led to the First Republic in 1812, signed in Cádiz. Since then to the modern day, it has been a roller coaster ride between Republican sentiment and Conservative reaction. Then came the Civil War and the rest as we know is just history. So, of course it is impossible to cram all of that into one small publication, despite the fact that I achieved it but ten lines. Somewhow, Jan Morris manages to capture the essence of this ebb and flow of Spanish history between the Mediterranean and Atlanic tides that have influenced Spain's destiny so markedly.

The book's brevity stands in contrast to its intensity. I have offered an outline here but Morris will give you the emotion. I, therefore, highly recommend this to anyone whether at the beginner's level of Spanish appreciation or the lofty 'aficionado' level. It was the first book I read in preparation for life in Spain and I occasionally, even now twenty years on, find myself turning to it for clarification and the odd elucidation.

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

* 2.5 estrelas

Um relato interessante, especialmente considerando o tempo em que foi escrito. Por isso mesmo, no entanto, é também um relato anacrónico. Ao longo da leitura, achei estranho a autora não comentar a situação socio-política do país como razão de muitas coisas que relata aqui, mas no fim descobre-se que Morris é da opinião que os espanhóis são um povo dado a regimes despóticos, até moldados para estes, o que talvez explica o facto de não ser dada atenção à causalidade entre a pobreza de Espanha e o seu regime político.

[Tania Cunha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acabado de escrever pouco depois de morte de Franco, é um retrato particularmente interessante de Espanha, enquanto país, e dos espanhóis, enquanto povo. Falar das cidades é sobretudo uma desculpa para falar de Espanha, enquanto país, e dos espanhóis, enquanto povo, de uma forma muito lúcida, com análises do passado e perspectivas de futuro que dão que pensar. Pelo meio, desconstroi algumas “verdades” de forma hilariante.

[Pablo Magaña Fernández]

[Abandoned at p. 70]

Not for me, unfortunately. I think Morris is at her best when she sits somewhere - say, in the corner of a small piazza in Trieste, or at the Sydney Harbour - and wondefully describes (or, rather, evokes) a view. I am much less interested in her mussings about a place's "deep soul." In Spain, however, she is really into that. Being a Spaniard myself, I found most of it either groundless or trivial. The history is a bit sketchy - and, for a book that seeks to describe Spain's "psyche" (whatever that is), the author's treatment of the dictatorship oscillates between the very superficial and the non-existent . There are some nice descriptions of Spain's architectural landmarks.

[Miguel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apesar de a própria autora assumir, logo a abrir, que este é um livro datado, não deixa de ser uma aventura intensa percorrer com a prosa erudita e elegante de Jan Morris os caminhos, as cidades, os rios, a história e a geografia de Espanha. A nota de abertura tem a ver com o facto de a Espanha apresentada no livro ser essencialmente a que reflectia o longo e autocrático consulado do Generalíssimo Franco, e é inegável que por vezes temos a impressão de que o olhar de Morris se deixou influenciar demasiado por essa circunstância. Mas nada disto diminui o prazer da leitura, a descoberta de que o olhar da autora nunca é o mais óbvio, e que esse olhar é sempre perspicaz e preciso, com rara atenção ao detalhe e marcado por um invulgar insight. Tudo características, às quais se acrescentaria o sentido de humor, a ironia, o gosto pelo que é genuíno e surpreendente, que são familiares em Jan Morris que é, primeiro, uma das mais extraordinárias escritoras de viagens contemporâneas, e, depois, uma das maiores escritoras actuais em língua inglesa.

[Mircea Poeana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jan Morris s-a nascut sub numele James Humphry Morris.
A decis sa devina femeie, dupa o casatorie de 25 de ani si nasterea a cinci copii.
O femeie sensibila, inteligenta, intr-un trup de barbat.
O personalitate "exotica" ce transpare in fiecare pagina a "tabloului" de fata.
Jan Morris picteaza in cuvinte asezate cu penelul imaginatiei exact acolo unde isi au locul, intr-o montura policroma care ne aminteste de peisajele lui William Turner.
"Spania" nu este un ghid turistic si am fi dezamagiti daca am citi textul in aceasta nota.
Este un poem metafizic despre un taram imaginat de autor cu suflet de femeie si rigoare barbateasca.

[Joana Costa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 ★★
Como é que um livro com menos de 300 páginas, bem escrito, sobre uma cultura que nos apraz tanto, descrevendo locais que conhecemos e adoramos tanto se pode tornar numa difícil missão?
Não sei... mas foi o que senti. Uma missão difícil de concluir, talvez pelas inúmeras referências histórias, talvez porque foi publicado inicialmente nos anos 60, relatando uma Espanha Franquista.
Gosto muito de livros de não ficção de viagens, mas até agora este foi o que menos gostei de ler (curiosamente sobre um dos países que melhor conheço) e tenho muita pena que assim tenha sido.


Livro físico, em português

[Katy Koivastik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dense, thoughtful and full of color, just as I am sure Spain herself is. This book is neither a travel guide per se, nor is it entirely a history book, but more a series of impressionistic paintings bringing the Spain of the past, present and future together.

I loved reading this book and am even more eager to embark on my trip there a couple of months from now. Ms. Morris has clearly traveled extensively and is an excellent reporter.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

The value of this book reduces inexorably as you proceed through it. This is unfortunate as the first two/three chapters are truly excellent.

[martin anthony mullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting details not easily available in tourist guide books. A kind of intellectual / historical Bryson guide to Spain

[Christiane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a disappointment to me, entirely my fault, though, as I had not realised that it was first published in 1964, so obviously it’s dated. While this author’s 1960 book on Venice is still relevant and a hugely enjoyable read, today’s Spain bears no resemblance to the one described by Jan Morris and it feels like he’s writing about another place entirely.

It was a time when “Spanish courtships were discreet, Spanish mothers dominant, Spanish men very manly and Spanish women usually chaste, when carriages were swaying down Andalusian lanes with ladies chatting in their cushioned recesses, young people came up from Barcelona to dance the Sardana in Montserrat, gypsies were thought picturesque, the men of La Mancha wore headscarves and rode about in covered wagons like Western pioneers, the leathery muleteer rode through the streets of Andalusia, his string of animals heavy with sacks, panniers or baskets of vegetables, the Murillo boy trotted by on his donkey, the women chatted perpetually around the fountain, their big waterpots propped upon its parapet, splendid brass-bound locomotives snorted in steam and metal polish down Spanish railways, the miller stood outside his windmill on the ridge, with a smell of flour, and creaking of old mechanisms, old Spanish village ladies hid their faces from strangers behind their black headscarves ….. you get the message, this book is totally dated.

And though the author can’t be blamed for describing the country the way he saw it decades ago, he might be criticised for his overwrought, gushing style, for his exaggerations and generalisations (nobody can be kinder than a Spaniard, with his lack of envy, his guileless courtesies) his over the top flights of fancy (he knows no other building with more fizz than the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela which exudes a delightful air of cheerful satisfaction) and last but not least his unacceptable (in my books) glorification of the bullfight (...“the savage magic and grandeur of the corrida”...) Shame on him !

What I enjoyed about this book were Cecilia Eales’ lovely lopsided watercolours.

[Juan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this book second hand, because so far there had been nothing written by Morris that had let me down. And about my very own country, no less!
Well, I was disappointed. Not quite, because it’s a short book. But there are many problems with it, and probably one of them is its length. When you devote a good amount of pages to Trieste, you can’t simply go and write a leaflet about a whole big country like Spain. Which means it’s not really a travel book; its chapters are thematic, but it does not give you a sense of place beyond the first chapter, that approaches Spain from the border in Roncesvalles. It jumps from one place to another, from one name-drop to another, eventually looking more like the short intro that Lonely Planet have (without its practical side) than what we’re used to in a travel book.
There’s another, bigger problem. This book is the result of the partial rewriting of something that apparently started as an article in the sixties and finished like a short book in the, as far as i can tell, late seventies. And the problem is that there are donkeys in the street in a chapter, and the first tourists peeping into the exotic Spain, and next there are just the cars and beaches crowded with tourist we know today; Spain is in one sentence the unexploited and unspoiled pre-industrial country that’s oppressed by a dictatorship, and next it’s something completely different, a democratic, hopeful, developed country. So there’s quite a cognitive disonance happening, because eventually you don’t know what she’s talking about. Even more so when she describes Úbeda, my hometown, as the place where she participated in a “zambra” with gipsies singing “jondo”, something I’ve never heard about. She also describes Madrid as a city devoid of any modern or modernist building, which is simply not true; even in the 60s there were many interesting architects acting there (and elsewhere in Spain).
Long story short, even great writers can fail, more so when they write under some deadline or are simply on retainer to do so. Might or might not be the case, but at any rate, not a travel book I’d recommend anyone about my own country.

[Jeremy Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memorable images
I've greatly enjoyed Jan Morris's books on Oxford, as well as some of her travel essays, so when this appeared on an Amazon list while I was looking for books about Spain, I picked it up quickly. It's a short set of pieces about different aspects of that country, written with a characteristic delicate touch that presents the exactly appropriate image in the most memorable way - for example (p94): "In Spanish, the pronoun tu is reserved for relatives, intimates and animals"; on the following page, we learn that, "of the ten thousand varieties of flowers in Europe, more than half are found in Spain".

One of the most striking of these images occurs near the beginning of the book, where the course of Spanish history is likened to a elevation graph formed by cutting an imaginary slice through the country from coast to coast: climbing steadily to the heights of the Iberian central plateau, before sliding down to the sea again. The historical simile sees the fortunes of the country rising to a pinnacle in the sixteenth century when it was, for a brief period, the richest and most powerful nation on earth. Since then, according to Morris, it's been downhill all the way, and she ends with a question about whether the country's fortunes can rise again.

Recent visitors to that pleasant country might be surprised to read about her uncertainty on this point, but it must be recalled that she was originally writing in 1964 whilst Franco was still in charge, and although the book was updated in 1979, this was only four years after his death - still too soon to be able to spot the improvements in the fortunes of the nation that have occurred since then. However in the end, she turns this difficulty to her advantage, likening efforts at peering into Spain's future to looking at - in the memorable words of Jose Ortega y Gasset - "a cloud of dust, left hanging in the air when a great people went galloping down the highroad of history". Just perfect.

Originally reviewed 10 October 2009

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jan Morris was one of the most entertaining & informative travel writers...though she may have changed gender in her long literary life, Morris remained a fine-tuned observer of different cultures & places.
In this 1964 survey of post-Franco Spain...now nearly fifty years ago...Morris goes forensically under the skin of 'proud' Spain with a scalpel to expose the underlying paradoxes & myths of Spanish identity; this book would/will cause some discomfort & distress to contemporary Spaniards...who still seem to live in a delusion that their place in the world is assured...by virtue of bull-fighting (I abhor!), Real Madrid (I despise!) & imperial conquest of a continent or two under the one true cross!! (And no-one expects the Spanish Inquisition!). It lacks any real humour...and only mentions 'futbol' once! But it is an excellent example of a book, capturing the essence of a country & its culture in fewer than 150 pages...though it seems a little dated in its view of Spanish 'hidalgo' individuality.
(One of my female Spanish students learning English, & teaching me some pasos dobles!, identified me, affectionately?, as "Frank''..after the comic character Frank Spencer from the BRITISH television comedy series "Some Mothers Do 'ave 'em''...a veiled compliment to their recognition that the world smiles...& Spain should too! Alas, in the early 1960s...the sound of laughter in Spain must have been rare. I was filled with a sense of heavy-hearted dread of change on every page...like a poisonous insect trapped in glorious amber.

[Răzvan Molea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Şi loialităţile spaniole sunt subîmpărţite, căci această ţară e caracterizată nu doar de regionalism, ci şi de un localism pătimaş. Pentru mulţi spanioli, patriotismul nu merge mai departe de satul lor, iar Spania, la modul abstract, e doar un agent fiscal sau un sergent major. Limba spaniolă variază nu doar de la o provincie la alta, ci chiar de la un sat la altul şi entitatea sătească are o autonomie atât de mare, încât în timpul războaielor napoleoniene primarul din Móstoles, un cătun de lângă Madrid, a declarat personal război Franţei.

În mod inevitabil, conducătorii spanioli au fost preocupaţi de pericolele separatismului. Când nobilii supuşi lui s-au răsculat, regele Ramiro al II-lea al Aragónului i-a invitat pe toţi la Huesca pentru a le arăta, pasămite, un minunat clopot nou, al cărui sunet se auzea în toată ţara; când au sosit, i-a decapitat pe toţi şi, aşezând cincisprezece capete într-un cerc ce reprezenta gura clopotului, l-a atârnat pe al şaisprezecelea de o funie, ca să joace rolul limbii.

[Carlos Ferreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primeiro livro que li da Jan Morris e portanto não posso comparar com outras obras desta autora, mas fiquei interessado em conhecer. Gostei bastante desta mistura entre geografia, história e sociologia (que constitui a boa literatura de viagem), servida por uma prosa elegante e por vezes com algum humor com que nos brindou nesta obra sobre Espanha.
É escrita nos anos 60 do século XX, durante a ditadura de Franco e tem uma pequena atualização depois da morte do ditador, que não altera nada da obra e apenas “deseja” um futuro diferente para o país e os seus habitantes. Acredito que ficaria certamente muito surpreendida com a evolução que teve lugar e o dinamismo que o país apresenta (o radicalismo já lá estava como é várias vezes notado pela autora ;-)).
Achei muito interessante conhecer esta Espanha de há 60 anos (da qual tinha uma ideia aproximada) e ter a oportunidade de poder compará-la com a actual que conheço razoavelmente bem.
7 / 10

[Marius Gîdileanu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book captures the vision of the author of a recently democratic Spain in 1970s. It is a travel guide, a history lesson and an anthropological effort all at the same time.

Was the 1970s Spain really as the author described it? I couldn’t tell, but this book has the particular power to evoke vivid images of an archaic Spain that kept me turning pages for the beauty and maturity of the writing.

“There it all is, like a mirage in the morning: the space and the dust and the pride of it all, the chuffing steam trains on the high plateau, the tall golden towers beside the rivers of Spain, the storks, and the priests, and the policemen. It is the kind of high prospect that hermits look for, when they want to sit down with a skull on the table, and think about the future.”

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jan Morris examines the character of Spain and her people through the lenses of the geography and the history of the Iberian Peninsula. I found this a good introduction in preparation for travelling there next week.

It is a bit dated and I will be interested to see what has changed since this book was originally published in the 1960s. It is also recommended to have a map of Spain close by so that you can keep track of the provinces and cities/ towns that are mentioned.

[Cory Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like most travel writing, this book reveals far more about the author than the places visited. And in this case, the author represents the worst, most generalising, facets of the pseudo-posho 'English' personality. Conservative, reductive, and not a little Orientalist, she notes too keenly the rather superficial differences in others over the real individuals that inhabit the towns and cities of Spain. Also, what is with her complaints about tax every other chapter? Tedious.

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this as I read it during our first few days in Spain. Her style is lyrical, and Morris always has a sharp eye for detail and anecdote. The section on Toledo was a particular treat to read after our visit. But I must confess that, two weeks later, I don't remember another thing about it. Time to re-read?

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written, if a little outdated now (understandably so).
A little 'fluffy' for my taste and a touch repetitive at times, but some very interesting details. I read this while on a trip to Barcelona and the surrounding mountains, so it really helped me consider the countries history as I was taking in the sights and hills.

[Carlos Filipe Bernardino · Rating 3 out of 5]

O livro foi escrito em 1964, posteriormente a autora reviu a obra e fez uma actualização da mesma, por volta do período pós Franco e do processo de transição democrática. Tendo isto em atenção, é um livro escrito por alguém das Ilhas Britânicas que nos oferece a sua visão de Espanha e das suas gentes.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there were some generally interesting insights and accurate observations, the 40+ years since the book was written have altered Spain in important ways. Alas, not something I could use with my students.

[Supriyo Chaudhuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful little book about Spain, it's history, geography and culture in a narrative form, gloriously presented as only Jan Morris can do. It's a bit dated - it was written when Russia was still Communist - but as I wanted to understand the meaning of Spain, I could have found nothing better.

[Silke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Excellent writing on the few pages where Morris manages to abandon the tone of condescension and the broad generalisations that dominate this book. Even considering it is a "child of its time" it made me feel totally uncomfortable.

[Emeelu · Rating 4 out of 5]

sights, history in a brief, not so travel book.

[Howard Richards · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather dates now and a bit hard going to be honest.

[Pedro Trujillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesante discípula - en parte - de Richard Ford, pero en los 60-80 del siglo XX. Muy buena traducción, pues rezuma crítica y erudición tradicional.