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Continue reading →: Los Chozos de OrbanejaOrbaneja Del Castillo is one of those attractive ancient Spanish villages that gets floods of tourists at the weekend. Buses bring crowds from the local cities of Burgos, Santander, Bilbao and Vitoria. The interest of the majority of visitors is in taking a selfie in front of the waterfall that…
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Continue reading →: Dengue Boy by Michel Neiva
translated from the Spanish (Argentina) – Published 2024 Nieva is an exciting new Argentinian writer of speculative fiction. This, his debut novel, has been described as ‘gaucho-punk’, but is so unparalleled that it requires its own genre. Some narratives defy being described in a review summary; such is this. Here’s…
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Continue reading →: TudancaI spent three days at the picturesque village of Tudanca, in the Saja-Besaya Natural Park, which gave excellent views over the Sierra de Peña Sagra, a range of sixteen kilometres in length above the Nansa valley. It is an excellent base for hiking and some really good MTB as well.…
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Continue reading →: Dog DaysRoja had that bout of gastroenteritis a couple of weeks ago. He received treatment for it in Oliveira do Hospital where he had a blood test and an ultrasound to see if there were any underlying problems, but there results were inconclusive. About two weeks ago he was itching, licking…
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Continue reading →: 13 French Street by Gil Brewer
American Pulp Fiction – Published 1951 50s noir stands apart from other periods because of the compelling plots, and those plots alone, uncomplicated by tangents, deviations and sub-plots. They are often short and direct, to be read in a couple of sittings. This is a good example. Brewer’s style in…
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Continue reading →: The International Booker Longlist..
One correct.. that’s better than usual.. (On The Calculation of Volume).. The full list is here. I’ve read three of them though, and they’re perfectly good, though I didn’t think of the standard to make the cut.. Eurotrash by Christian Kracht translated from the German (Switzerland) by Daniel Bowles. This…
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Continue reading →: House of Fury by Evelio Rosero
translated from the Spanish (Colombia) by Victor Meadowcroft – published 2025 This is a wild ride indeed, though with a necessary steady build up. Set over the course of a single cataclysmic evening in Bogota it begins with Nacho Caicedo, a supreme court magistrate, hosting an anniversary party along with…
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Continue reading →: Predictions for the International Booker Longlist
It’s the announcement of the International Booker Longlist on Tuesday (25th), a literary highlight of the year (for me at least). I usually post about it a few days before, and make a few predictions, which are usually wrong… It’s really difficult to predict I think, and that’s part of…
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Continue reading →: Days in the Ibias ValleyThe Ibias valley is a wine producing area and it’s the time of the year to prune the vines. These are small, usually family run, vineyards unlike the Douro valley where it’s big business. The area around San Antolín is also known for its rich history. A walking trail, the…
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Continue reading →: Down The Rabbit Hole
Or Fiesta en la Madriguera – Mexico 2024 – Comedy Drama Based on a novel by Juan Pablo Villalobos, of whose writing I am a big fan, this is the story of the life of a ten year old boy whose father is one of Mexico’s drug lords. The child…
To live more widely
supera superiora sequi
SafeReturnDoubtful is my alias.
Where is Andy?
I was so much older then…
Quote of the Week
Alice asked the Cheshire Cat, who was sitting in a tree, ‘What road do I take?’ The cat asked, ‘Where do you want to go?’ ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it really doesn’t matter, does it?’
Lewis Carroll
Safe Return Doubtful 