The Factory of Light : Tales from My Andalucian Village - Softcover

Michael Jacobs

3.82

49 ratings by Goodreads

9780719561733: The Factory of Light : Tales from My Andalucian Village

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0719561736 ISBN 13: 9780719561733

Publisher: John Murray, 2004

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Searching for a house to rent in 1999, Michael Jacobs was offered one in the Andalucian olive-growing community of Frailes. This was a place where the modern world enjoyed a strange co-existence with a virgin Andalucia ruled by a dynasty of saintly healers. It was not long before he decided to take up more permanent residence above the Discoteca Oh! As he shared in each season's special events, Michael's life became increasingly tied up with this village threatened by drought, unemployment, and decreasing population. He was taken under the wing of El Sereno, an elderly Romeo, while his friendship with the village social worker Merce - a woman who held court in a bar situated inside a cave - led him deeper into a miraculous world. Miracles were needed to save the place; and miracles began happening. With his dream of inviting a legendary Spanish actress to the village's abandoned Art Deco cinema, the truly unimaginable occurred, and the name of Frailes became known even to Hollywood.

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About the Author:

Michael Jacobs was born in Italy and studied Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art, from which he has a doctorate. His numerous books include 'Andalucia', 'Between Hopes and Memories: A Spanish Journey' and most recently 'Alhambra'. He has also translated a number of Spanish and Latin American plays. He is a member of the Andalucian Academy of Gastronomy and in 2002 was made the first foreign knight of 'The Very Noble and Illustrious Order of the Wooden Spoon'. When not in Spain, he lives in London.

Review:

'A well-constructed narrative which builds to a page-turning climax' -- Anglo-Spanish Society Quarterly Review 20050701 'The Factory of Light is an intelligent, beguiling story, and Michael Jacobs writes with a sly humour and real affection and understanding for his chosen region that eclipses most other writers of the genre.' -- Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat 'This rusticana a la Espagnola is a heartwarming and informative narrative. It should be read by everyone thinking of buying a house in Spain' -- Independent 'Humorous, touching and dramatic, Factory of Light is a refreshing alternative to the current wave of 'moving to the Med' travelogues, from a skilled writer with a deep knowledge of and concern for, his subject' -- Paul Morrison, Wanderlust 'Jacobs is worth reading for his appetite for the wry, the ironic and the grotesque' -- Anthony Sattin, Sunday Times 'The particular strength of this eloquent, unhurried tale is its depiction of the author's friendship with El Sereno! Theirs is a winning Quixote-Panza double act' -- Miranda France, Daily Telegraph 20030712 'A welcome reminder that close encounters of the Mediterranean kind don't have to be all froth' -- Sunday Times 20030712 'He writes ... with insight, tenderness and wit' -- Sunday Times 20040912 'The descriptions of events and encounters burst with vividness and energy' -- Oxford Mail 20030613

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