Spanish Practices by Richard Townsend

 Spanish Practices by Richard Townsend

Spanish Practices by Richard Townsend

 was published by Chiselbury on 24th November 2022. 

My thanks to the author for sending me a copy to review

 and to Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.

Synopsis

Spanish Practices’ weaves together nearly half a century of observations by Rico, an Englishman married into an eccentric family in a left-behind corner of Spain.

Among others, we meet Macu, the maiden aunt who runs the family wine business with an iron fist and controls the family purse-strings; mother-in-law Mamí, whose sons can do no wrong, except when they do; brother-in-law Chus, who has a loose interpretation of the marriage vows and a dangerous weakness for the bottle; and younger brother-in-law Sancho, who becomes pivotal to the family’s succession battles and their struggles with the local rival winery.

Initially an outsider, Rico is drawn ever deeper into the family mire as well as facing, with his wife Marina, his own fraught relationships with neighbours, local planning laws and the busy body ‘Authorities’.

Through the interplay of rivalries, conflicts and vicissitudes ‘Spanish Practices’ illuminates the idiosyncrasies of Spanish ways and exemplifies the travails of a society in the throes of wholesale transformation.

My Review

When I initially received this book to review I thought it was going to be a straight forward memoir of a life in Spain with an Anglo/ Spanish family. How wrong could I be as this was told more on the side of an hilarious novel that a straight forward memoir and had me laughing at the antics of various characters you discover over the decades along with rivalries, family conflicts and , at times, totally unbelievable incidents.

Richard (Rico) is an English man who marries into a staunch Spanish family that obviously feel, and make it known, that he is not one of them and consequently he experiences at first hand the pros and cons of being an "outsider" trying to make a alife, and a second home, in Spain with his inlaws. Mami and Aunt Macu "run" the family and woe betide anyone who thinks otherwise, especially those who side with rival winemakers and families adn beileve you me it would take a brave person to take them on.

Richard tells his story with a sharp with and humour that has you experiencing every put down, success and intake of breath that he encounters along the way. It also has you thinking that you would certainly think twice before taking on what he took on with Marina's family. I also love the way that part of the book is told through Richard's letters to Jack in which he opens up about the nuances of Spanish family life and the daily happenings that occur in his extended family.

This is a book for everyone who has trod the same path as Richard, or is thinking of following in his footsteps, to make sure that you go into it with your eyes wide open and be warned about the local bureaucracy when it comes to planning permission. 

 

About the Author

Richard is a linguist and historian by training who ended up as a self-employed adviser to private companies on their financial and other affairs. He began writing several years ago and Spanish Practices is his first novel.

He is married with two adult children and two small granddaughters. He lives with his Spanish wife in London and Spain.