What to Read – What to Do – Books set in Spain.

THE PLACE: Pyrenees Mountains, French and Spanish border
WHAT TO READ: Guernica by Dave Boling
WHAT TO DO:  Play at being a smuggler in the Pyrenees Mountains.

“This route, it seemed, had been a good decision, and the extra walking to the east of the area that had been most heavily patrolled had been worth the effort. But the real test always came at the river, and Dodo had planned to cross some six or seven miles upstream of Béhobie. There the slope was gentle and protected by woods on the French side, and although there were guard stations at intervals on the Spanish shore, bends in the river created gaps in the lines of sight at some places…no German patrols had been seen.”  - Guernica  (p342)

THE BOOK:  Dave Boling’s novel Guernica takes us into the world of the Basques in the 1930s – focusing on a family living in Spain’s market town of Guernica, the centre of Basque culture and history. It is a time of growing persecution for the Basque as the Spanish Civil War begins to bite and the Ansotegui brothers and their offspring are desperately trying to cling to their identity. On April 26, 1937 Guernica was bombed in an attack which to this day is held up as one of the world’s worst examples of the horrors of war and its impact on civilians. This novel look at that attack through the eyes of the Ansotegui family.

Image courtesy of Jean Michel Etchecolonea via Wikimedia Commons

WHAT TO DO:  While most of the novel is set in Guernica itself, there are several scenes in the Pyrenees mountains on the border between Spain and France. As the Basque area straddles both countries, it was ideal for the smuggling of goods and people from one country to another – and the Basque themselves, with their knowledge of the land were perfect for the job. Now – in far more peaceful times for the two countries, you can experience something of what that was like.

The Pyrenees were a place for shepherds and smugglers, and as a result there’s an abundance of fantastic walking trails. A quick google will bring up a number of people offering guided walks, but if you want to know more about the Basque, you might want to consider The Pyrenean Experience which will also give you a taste of traditional Basque mountain life, from the walks, to the food and Basque rural sports, like wood-chopping and stone lifting – something else which features in the novel.  You can even meet people who once smuggled allied airmen out of the country and still do a bit of poaching with their children to “keep up the family tradition”.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND: Late winter and early spring is ‘Carnival Time’ in this part of the Pyrenees, so while the weather may not be perfect, you can experience a UNESCO recognised event which brings out the depth of Basque cultural traditions. In the towns of Ituren, Zubieta and Auritz the carnival is held in the last week of January, when groups of men dressed as ‘Joaldunak’ march between the towns clanging bells, in an ancient ritual of which no-one really knows the origin. Ituren holds another carnival in September in which the Joaldunak also put in an appearance.

Basque Joaldunak during an ancient bell-clanging ritual during the Ituren carnival.
Image courtesy of Jean Michel Etchecolonea via Wikimedia Commons.

VIDEO TO WATCH: Learn more about the Joaldunak and the woman behind the Pyrenean Experience in this video.

FURTHER READING:
One person’s experience of a Pyreanean walking holiday  - “I have left a little bit of my heart in the Basque country, and will certainly be back.”
Carnival Time in Ituren - ”In short, it was chaos.”

BOOK SOURCE: Own copy

Suzi

If you have enjoyed this post, then you are sure to enjoy my free online bookclub, in which we are taking a fiction adventure around the world. Read more about it here.

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I am delighted to introduce you to a new, regular series here on the Packabook blog which, for lack of a wittier title, I am calling ‘What to Read – What to Do’. Sometimes I just like to tell it how it is!

The idea is that I will take one book, give you a brief description, and then suggest one thing you can do related to the novel. The posts will be fairly short and sweet, but hopefully they will provide you with some great travel ideas. Fiction gives us so many amazing opportunities to explore the world, and each of these posts will reveal one more tiny aspect of that wondrous world that we can investigate for ourselves. Now I appreciate that it is unlikely you will be able to just take off and do these things straight away, but how about keeping a record of the ones which appeal to you? That way when you do manage to make that trip to France for example, you’ll know exactly what to read and what to do when you get there. These posts will be ideal to add to your ‘Bucket List’ or ‘Places to Visit’ boards on Pinterest, so feel free to make good use of the ‘Pin It’ button at the top of the post.  (If anyone is not yet on Pinterest and needs an invite, let me know in the comments and I’ll invite you). Now, let’s get started with our premiere edition of…

What to Read – What to Do – Books set in France

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THE PLACE: The Luberon, France
WHAT TO READ: The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson
WHAT TO DO:  Immerse yourself in the lavender of Provence….

“…where lavender rose upon lavender in a hundred shades of mauve, twilight brought a deep, unreal violet to the plateau. One evening in late July, I watched transfixed, as the undulations merged into a mysterious landscape where no boundaries were definable between flower and sky, between falling shadow and the darkening blue.” – The Lantern (p145)

THE BOOK:  Deborah Lawrenson’s The Lantern is described as “a mix between a gothic ghost story and a modern romance” and that’s a pretty accurate description of this novel which takes us to the heart of rural France.  When Eve falls for the mysterious Dom, she travels with him to live in a run-down old house in the Luberon, in the middle of Provence. But as the darkness of the winter sets in, Eve becomes suspicious of all around her, especially Dom and the secrets he refuses to share. And on top of that – she’s convinced the house is haunted. There are not a lot of surprises in this novel, which Lawrenson says is inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, but if you are looking for an easy read which makes the most of the sights and sounds of the south of France, then this should do it for you. The writer has based the house on her own run-down property in the area, so her descriptions of the buildings and surrounding area are about as accurate as you could get. She even has pictures and descriptions on her website, to really help you visualise it. In fact her website has a load of information related to the region in which it’s set, so certainly worth a visit before setting off.

Image courtesy of nicephore via Wikimedia Commons

WHAT TO DO:  One of the key elements of the novel is lavender. This part of Provence is famous for its lavender fields and production – both small and large scale, and if you are looking for some stunning scenery then you will be sure to find it here.  You can follow one of the ‘routes de la Lavande’, either by car, foot or bicycle, and visit many of the villages mentioned in the novel, immersing yourself in all the sights and smells. Or for something really special you could witness the lavender fields from the air – in a hot air balloon.  While Lawrenson doesn’t tell you exactly where her big old house is located, at one stage she mentions it is in walking distance of Apt, so if you make it to this walled city, you’ll know you are in the heart of the novel. Villages such as Roussillon, Gordes and Bonnieux all get detailed mentions, and you will pass through them yourself as you seek out the area’s lavender trails. A quick look on the internet shows a number of organised tour operators to help you make the most of the region and others suggest itineraries you can follow yourself. To help you put it all into perspective it may also be worth dropping into the Lavender Museum in Coustellet. And while the large scale commercial farms near Sault are impressive, Lawrenson also encourages you to visit one of the smaller distilleries, which will give you a better idea of some of the more traditional production methods mentioned in the novel.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND: The lavender fields are in bloom between June and August, and the distilleries are open in July and August, so bear this in mind when arranging your trip. For an absolute highlight, you might want to make sure you are there in mid-July when Apt holds its Lavender Festival.

VIDEO TO WATCH: Hear Deborah Lawrenson speak about the book and some reviewer thoughts in this video.

FURTHER READING:
Blog post and pictures from Deborah Lawrenson as she visits Sault  - ”Shops entirely devoted to lavender and sunshine”
Traveler Phoebe Lowe explores the lavender region around Sault and Apt in her blog - ”It was crazily beautiful!! Sooooooo nice!!”
Visit2province.com - for lots of information on the lavender fields
The Luberon – a good general site with some stunning photographs

BOOK SOURCE: A review copy of The Lantern was kindly provided by the publisher.

Suzi

P.S. If you have enjoyed this post, then you are sure to enjoy my free online bookclub, in which we are taking a fiction adventure around the world. Read more about it here.

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“The Glass Room remained indifferent, of course. Plain, balanced, perfect; and indifferent. Architecture should have no politics, Rainer von Abt said. A building just is.” – The Glass Room p100

When the Tugendhat family from Brno in Czechoslovakia decided to commission architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe to design their new home in 1928, they had no idea that his creation would come to reflect their country’s turbulent history and politics, being passed from their own hands, to those of the Nazis, the Russians and eventually the Czech authorities – until one day being deemed a vital part of Czech and world heritage.

The Tugendhats wanted something daring, modern and original, and when work was completed in 1930, that’s what they were presented with. Floor to ceiling windows, some of which slid to the floor, and an onyx wall which changed colour depending on the light, were just some of the features of the innovative Modernist design which became their family home. But not for long. Eight years after they moved in, the Tugendhats were forced to flee. World War Two was on their doorstep and this Jewish industrialist family decided to get out while they could. What happened next to the house is like a microcosm of Czech history, and so fascinated writer Simon Mawer, he decided to tell the story in a novel.

..The Living Room of the Villa Tugendhat – before the recent renovations. Image courtesy of Simonma via Wikimedia Commons

The Glass Room was published in 2009 to much critical acclaim, and a shortlisting for the Man Booker Prize. The name of the city, family and architect were changed and the lives of most of the characters fictionalised, but Mawer took the actual house as his subject, bringing it alive, even for people like me who up until reading the book had no interest in Modernist architecture whatsoever.

“Liesel and Viktor stood and marvelled at it. It had become a palace of light, light bouncing off the chrome pillars, light refulgent on the walls, light glistening on the dew in the gardens, light reverberating from the glass. It was though they stood inside a crystal of salt.” – The Glass Room p64

Having finished the book, I wanted nothing more than to get myself over to Brno to visit the house itself, but on investigating, I discovered it was closed to the public while undergoing a programme of refurbishment. Two years and nine million US dollars later the house is once again ready for visitors, and we’re told that around 80 percent of its original features have been restored.

“Just the space, the light, the white. Just the gleaming chrome pillars. Just the onyx wall and the curved partition of the Macassar wood. The cool, calm rationality of the place, undisturbed by any of the irrationality that human beings would impose on it. They pause for a moment and look.” – The Glass Room p183

View from the Villa Tugendat – before the recent renovations. Image courtesy of Simonma via Wikimedia Commons

After the Tugendhat’s left the house, it was seized by the Nazis, damaged by soldiers and then bombarded by the Allies – the famous windows smashed. When the Soviets arrived it was in turn a horse stable, a dance school and a rehabilitation centre for children with spine defects, before being left to fall into a state of disrepair. Much of this, with some adaption, is told in the novel.

“Zdenka pushes open the glass door and leads the way through into the gymnasium. The curtains have been pulled back and they walk across a lighted stage with the whole city as their audience. Behind her the visitor gives a small sigh, maybe a sign of longing maybe a mere exhalation of regret. ‘I’d forgotten how marvellous the place is,’ she says. ‘But what happened to the windows? It used to be all plate glass.’”  – The Glass Room p348

In the 1980s the Brno authorities took ownership of the house and there was a half-hearted attempt to restore it, but many believed they did more harm than good in their efforts to make it fit their own plan. In 1992, Czechoslovakia divided into two – the Czech Republic and Slovakia – and the deal was signed by the new countries’ prime ministers in the house itself. Villa Tugendhat was opened to the public in the mid 90s after being declared part of Czech cultural heritage and in 2001 it became a World Heritage Site.

Villa Turgenhat – before the recent renovations. Image courtesy of Mr Hyde via Wikimedia Commons

Now it has finally been returned to its former glory and from March 6, 2012 will be open once again to visitors – and I cannot wait for an opportunity to visit.

Mawer’s novel is not just a great read with an engaging narrative, it makes you fall in love with this house. He has taken much of the detail of the building and incorporated it into his story in a way that binds you to it.

“In the Glass Room they mounted the onyx wall. The slabs had veins of amber and honey, like the contours of some distant, prehistoric landscape. They were polished to a mirror-like gloss, and once in place, the stone seemed to take hold of the light, blocking it, reflecting it, warming it with a soft, feminine hand and then, when the sun set over the Špilas fortress and shone straight in at the stone, glowing fiery red.” – The Glass Rom p72

The Glass Room helps us to understand how much a country like the Czech Republic has been through over the last 80 years, how its people have been forced to live under several extreme regimes, and how even as it re-invents itself time and time again, the impact of that history remains – in its people, its character and its buildings.

“And all around them is the past, frozen into a construct of glass and concrete and chrome, the Glass Room with its onyx wall and its partition of tropical hardwood and the milky petals of its ceiling lights, a space, a Raum so modern when Rainer von Abt designed it, yet now, as Hana Hanakova sits and weeps, so imbued with the past.” – The Glass Room p372

And while I know very little of the Tugendhat family themselves, Mawer’s characters – Liesel, Viktor, Hana and Zdenka – are my friends, and when I finally get the opportunity to visit “their” home, I will feel I know all of its secrets and stories in a way I never could if I hadn’t had the pleasure of reading The Glass Room.

If you’d like to explore the story of Villa Tugendhat a little further, you may want to have a listen to an interview with Mawer, see old pictures of the house in this two-minute video, or visit the website.

Enjoy!

Suzi

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I have had a bit of a revelation.

I have been living in London for around eight years now, and somehow, without realising it, I have fallen out of wonder with it. How can that be? London is one of the most fascinating cities in the world, full of history, great architecture and an absolute wealth of stories. But after years of commuting to the office, cramming onto trains and buses with millions of others, and collapsing gratefully at home at the end of the working week, I have forgotten how wonderful it is to get out and explore.

And yet here I am, urging you to explore all these wonderful locations around the world as you read the novels inspired by them, and yet I can’t get myself away from the computer and into the alleys and towpaths of this magnificent city on my doorstep.

So, I am determined to do something about it. I need to get reading some novels set in London and lace up my walking shoes.

Having not read a novel set in London for some time I decided to start my London project by taking advantage of a handy podcast provided by the Guardian newspaper. The Guardian is marking 200 years since the birth of Charles Dickens with a whole lot of interesting content, including three podcasts you can download with Dickens related walking tours. The first one takes us into parts of London frequented by Oliver Twist.

So, armed with iPod (downloaded with said podcast and interactive map) and a printout of a rather funky hand-drawn style map, also provided on the Guardian website, I set off. I was hugely excited…I hadn’t done anything like this in London for such a long time.

It was only when I got to the starting point of the tour (near Angel Islington where Oliver would have arrived after walking several days from his workhouse in the country to London) that I realised I hardly had any battery left on my iPod. What a rookie mistake! The whole thing would fall apart without that marvel of Apple technology. All I could do was set off and hope for the best..

It’s just so cool (not geeky at all, I assure you) to walk the streets, passing fast food places, supermarkets and cash machines, while you have someone whispering stories in your ear of life in 19th century London. Everyone else might be struggling with their shopping, while you are learning that in this very spot Oliver met the Artful Dodger, or was brought before the cruel magistrate Mr Fang. I was taken down alleyways, past two hundred year old pubs and outside buildings, some of which I had walked past many times before, with no idea of their significance. I mean I was in complete ignorance that a post office I have lined up at many times was actually the site where young boys were made to walk on a huge treadmill as part of correctional therapy. (Ironically, the area is called ‘Mount Pleasant!)

The experience wasn’t perfect. Sometimes the directions weren’t entirely clear and I had to back track a few times, which was more stressful than it should have been because I could see the battery life on the iPod slipping away, but all in all, it was a terrific way to spend a couple of hours on a grey, threatening-to-rain kind of afternoon.

I finished up wishing I had time to have a drink in one of the wonderful old pubs on the journey, but feeling worldly and wise with a little bit of that love of London rekindled. Here’s to many more afternoons of wandering…

By the way – I finished with three percent of battery life to spare. Phew!

Suzi

PS. The Guardian has released its second podcast which takes you to Dickens locations in Rochester, Kent and in part three, it’s back to London for sites relating to David Copperfield. That’s my next mission.

What about you and where you live? Have you ever explored your town or city through a locally set novel? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

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John Shors is the author of the Thailand-set novel Cross Currents, which tells of a family who own a small resort on the beautiful island of Ko Phi Phi Don off the coast of Phuket. The family are struggling to make ends meet, and things are about to get a whole lot tougher, given that the book starts in the week before the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 when thousands of Ko Phi Phi residents lost their lives.  You can read more about the book itself here.

This is Shors’s fifth novel – the others being set in places as diverse as Vietnam and India, and he delights in making the settings of his novels as important as the characters in the books.

John has kindly agreed to answer some of my questions about the writing of this novel, and of Ko Phi Phi itself.

John, this is a novel in which the location is extremely important – tell us a little about your own relationship with Ko Phi Phi…?
After graduating from college, I taught English in Japan for several years, where I worked hard and managed to save some of my income. After leaving Japan, I backpacked around Asia for almost a year, and came across Ko Phi Phi, Thailand. This butterfly-shaped island was probably the most beautiful place I had ever been, and I basically fell in love with it. Not only had I discovered a tropical paradise, but the local people were quite friendly, and there was a wonderful rapport between locals and travellers, something not always present overseas.

In the years that followed, I found myself returning to Ko Phi Phi. Once I became a full-time writer, I decided to create a novel set in Ko Phi Phi, but I couldn’t figure out the vehicle to make such a story happen. I wanted to write more than a love story set in paradise. I wanted something that was global in nature. When the Indian Ocean Tsunami swept through Ko Phi Phi in 2004, I realised that I could write a novel that brought that day to life, celebrated the strength of the human spirit, and generated money for those who had been hurt by the wave.

How did you go about deciding whose perspective this story should be told from?
My goal with Cross Currents wasn’t to create a novel centred on the tsunami, but a character-driven story that could stand on its own feet without the wave. It seemed to me that Cross Currents should be told from two perspectives—Thai and tourist. So, I created the Thai family and the American family, and put a lot of effort into bringing these characters to life.

Ever since the film “The Beach” the Phi Phi islands have come under the world tourist spotlight, but there is a concern about the environmental impact of tourists – is this a place you think tourists should be visiting?
‘The Beach’ certainly brought a lot of attention to Ko Phi Phi. I visited the island long before the movie ever appeared, and have been back since its release. I wish that the island was as unspoiled as it was twenty years ago. But the world doesn’t work that way. And, fortunately, for the most part, Ko Phi Phi is still in good shape. There are no high-rise hotels, no cars, and no pollution. It’s certainly true that the Thai government could do a better job protecting this paradise, and tourists could do better as well. I was on the island a year ago, for instance, researching Cross Currents, and to my dismay I saw several tourists leave or drop litter on this pristine beach. So, while I encourage people to travel to the island, I also hope that they treat it with the respect that it deserves.

Maya Bay on Ko Phi Phi Ley (Lee or Leh), made famous by the film ‘The Beach’- Image courtesy of Cybercap via Wikimedia Commons

For someone who has not visited the Phi Phi islands before – how would you suggest they approach a visit?
A trip to Ko Phi Phi has some logistical challenges, but is doable. One can fly into Bangkok, and then fly to Phuket, which is Thailand’s biggest and most popular island. It’s a two-hour ferry ride from Phuket to Ko Phi Phi. The islands around Ko Phi Phi also make for wonderful day trips. There is world-class snorkeling, an abundance of white-sand beaches, etc. Many of the islands are completely undeveloped.

Any special recommendations for things to do or places to visit/stay?
I made an effort to bring a lot of the highlights of Ko Phi Phi to life within Cross Currents. For instance, my characters swim with sharks, hike to the top the island, visit a huge cave, etc. One of my goals with the book was to bring the joys of the island to vivid life on the page.

Have you been back to the island since the tsunami?
The tsunami occurred on December 26, 2004, and I visited the island in 2007 and 2010 to research Cross Currents. I was amazed at how everything had been rebuilt. One would have never known that such a calamity occurred there.

When we look at the types of novels written in English that are set in Thailand, Cross Currents stands out as being very different from much of what is generally available, how do you feel it fits in relation to what is normally published?
There certainly are many gritty novels that occur in Bangkok and have to do with the underworld there. At one point I thought about doing such a story, but in the end decided that I wanted to write a novel about the beauty of Thailand and its people.

You have made a habit of choosing interesting locations for your novels, often places that have not been written about before. How do you choose your locations?
I try to pick locations that I want to further explore and that haven’t yet been brought to life through popular fiction. Many writers have written novels set in Paris, London, Rio, Shanghai, and Tokyo. I want to write novels that occur abroad, but that are set in destinations that people aren’t quite as familiar with.

Do you have a favourite?
Well, I really do love Thailand. It will always be a special place to me.

What do you hope people take away from your novels?
One of my hopes is that my novels will help people realise that the world is a small place, that people are a lot more alike than they are different. Sometimes, through politics, we focus on our differences. Yet there is a lot more that binds us together than separates us.

If you are looking for a virtual journey to a beautiful Thai island, then I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of Cross Currents. Thank you John for your time and we look forward to your next novel adventure…

Suzi

Packabook was kindly provided with a review copy of the book “Cross Currents” by the publishers.

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