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4.2 out of 5
84.44% of customers are satisfied
5.0 out of 5 stars I’m very happy!
This is a hard book to find, I’m very happy!
4.0 out of 5 stars It was a wonderful and revealing description of life in Deia
The book was a fascinating read. It was a wonderful and revealing description of life in Deia, Mallorca by a person who was at first an outsider from his English birthplace who became a true Mallorcan, part of the fabric of his new home. It also was an heartfelt story of a child of a famous, but at times, eccentric poet, novelist father. For anyone who has had to endure a parent's deviation from a "normal" marriage, this story will touch you. Having a famous and brilliant, older father who wasn't dictated, at times, by conventional marital commitment was a test William Graves was able to triumph over and achieve a different type of success in life beneath the shadow of a literary giant.
4.0 out of 5 stars Eye Opener about the past
I was in Majorka in May 2019 and to read more about the history and how things developed, was an eye opener. Many questions were answered in this book. The book reads easily and keeps you turning the pages.
3.0 out of 5 stars Just as title states, Life in Majorca with Robert Graves
William Graves is the oldest son of Robert Graves (best remembered for I, Claudius: From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius and Good-Bye to All That: An Autobiography) from his second marriage and moved to the village of Deia (or Deya) on the Spanish island of Majorca (or Mallorca) with his family at age 6 in 1947."I, Claudius" is one of my favorite books - this is how I think of the father Robert, however I gather in the academic world his is known more for being a poet and scholar of ancient myths, biblical stuff etc. That was one interesting tidbit from this book, that Robert wrote "I, Claudius" just to make money and considered it a potboiler. Funny, I thought it was great but I guess that is the difference between an academic and a regular reader.The focus of this book is not Robert but William and his life on Deia, he considered it magical and home. He discusses how he saw it change from an authentic village to a pseudo-artist hippie hangout with most of the traditional occupations replaced by jobs to support the tourist industry. Really the whole village was completely transformed in its look and character within 25 years. How strange that must have been to the villagers.I drove thru Deia a few years ago and it is so stunning, and there were so many tourists, I couldn't help but wonder how wonderful it might have been when it was still real and isolated so it was interesting and a little sad to read about the transformation.Unlike most writers, Robert seems highly productive and disciplined and domestic, there every day like a regular father. Of course he has some digressions with his search for the 'muse' but it was nice to read what a regular dad he was, not the best dad but a dad nevertheless.But if you have never been to Deia, I doubt this book would be of much interest as so much is about life in the village. Unless a real fan of Robert Graves and want something so supplement his many biographies.
Five Stars
Thanks
Conocer a Graves desde el Inicio.
Me decidí a comprar este libro de Williams, porque soy un fan de Graves. Después de haber leído Farewell to all that, entre otras obras, y haber visitado su casa en Mallorca, sentí la necesidad de ir más al origen. De tener más datos o simplemente impresiones que tan bien evocadas aparecen en esta obra. Recomiendo su lectura para aquéllos que estén interesados en la figura de Robert Graves.
In the shadow of genius
William Graves' account of his early life with his loving, quixotic and powerful father is fascinating. I read this whilst visiting rural Mallorca; his descriptions of post WW2 life capture an era beautifully, bringing alive the landscapes and the people of the island. The little boy, with his Mallorcan village playmates, leads an enchanted, happy childhood. Then, as his education becomes more important, he loses much of the closeness he shared with his father. The expectation for a formal, 'British style' education takes over. There is a sense of a lost time of innocence, and of gradual decline of the eldest son's rapport with his father. William's account of the slow and perplexing decline of his father's health, and the difficult relationship they had as William matured, is poignant and candid. Robert's unfathomable obsessions with his 'muses' are described, not in prurient detail, but simply as they affected the family; sometimes obliquely, and sometimes directly.These eccentricities just had to be lived with, William explains. His mother, not in any way a victim, is shown to be a wise, clever and devoted woman. William's generous, passionate, complex, big-hearted and sometimes foolish father strides through the pages, dominating the lives around him. The 'Senyor' was beloved of many villagers as well as cheated by one or two. His genuine love for the island and the people shines through in his son's account of his extravagant deeds there. William's account is a self-confessed attempt to place his life with RG and his mixed feelings into perspective, after his father's death. Very readable, and beautifully observed. As I stood outside the Graves family house in Deya, (having arrived too late for 'the tour', and not sure I wanted to take it anyway) I felt a blend of tenderness for the family who had lived here, and a fleeting sense of the habits, environment and routines which accompanied RG as he wrote the seven or so books which I have read so far.
very interesting
This very personal book gives us a close up look at the life of a famous ex-pat family in Majorca. Robert Graves comes out as a horrible philanderer and an egotist. William Graves paints a very honest portrait of his father and his family. It is like many families with its ups and downs and in this case a bit of a roller coster. I did not know much about Robert Graves outside of his work and now I know maybe too much, the shine is off. I am happy to have read this book and learned quite a lot about William's family, life on Majorca before it became a tourist trap and on his famous father warts and all. I recommend this book.
I can appreciate what William Graves' childhood must have been like. William paints a wonderful description
I am really enjoying this book. It is written well and very interesting. Having visited my own family who live in Mallorca on many occasions, I can appreciate what William Graves' childhood must have been like. William paints a wonderful description, which any one should be able to enjoy, about village life in the beautiful village of Deià and the interesting people who managed to live there in sometimes difficult circumstances.
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Wild Olives: Life in Majorca With Robert Graves
BHD15564
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