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Fifteen years ago when he first moved to the country, Spanish life was an adventure. The place felt like "a wild, creative playground … still at the end of the party which had broken out when the Franco regime had finally been removed". After decades of autocratic rule, democracy had taken root. No one bothered to sleep.
But then almost imperceptibly Iberia's distinct character began to change. Urban Spain started to conform — with Europe, with the Anglo-American business model — "losing the very charm which made it different … losing its rawness and becoming ever more regimented".
Webster concluded that in Spanish cities "the spark was dulling". So with his vivacious flamenco dancing partner Salud, he left Valencia and headed for the hills. They traded electricity, running water and security for wild boar, rutting ibex and legends. Sacred Sierra recounts their first year on the land: Jason — whose previous experience of gardening had extended to the odd bit of weeding in suburban England — is honest about his ignorance. He doesn't know what almond trees look like, for example, or that he owns over of them. But with the help of a half-blind farmer, a part-time hermit and a 12th-century D.
There is the sound of my own heart and breathing, then beyond that come the sounds of the world around: While toying with the timeless, he also retells ancient legends: Through them Webster reminds us that even in modern Europe, story-telling follows ancient patterns of myth, reflecting universal concerns, linking individual, community, land and seasons. Legally it is mine, but I do not own the mountain; it can never belong to us in any real sense at all. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Thanks for telling us about the problem.
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In a book, rich with characters and plants, this is a romantic and alluring leap into Spanish rural life with the author and his partner, a flamenco dancer, who buy a farm in a remote, steep valley and set about clearing land, planting and harvesting olives. Paperback , pages.
That's exactly what Jason Webster did — and is still doing today. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Michael Heywood rated it liked it Jun 20, We also loved the self-explanatory A Late Dinner: Tracy Cook rated it it was amazing Dec 17, There's bee keeping adventures, mushroom foraging and ways to cook snails. It was part of the journey:
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Sacred Sierra , please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Jun 20, Emma Cooper rated it it was amazing. Jason Webster has lived in Spain for many years, and made a life there. He lives with a Spanish flamenco dancer, speaks the language and eats the food - he's not just an ex-pat there for a sunnier version of his own life.
Having lived in Valencia itself, and tired of the heat and the noise, Jason and Salud decide the time is right to buy an old farm a 'mas' in the local language and see if they can live the good life in the mountains. But most of the mas have been abandoned as people left for Jason Webster has lived in Spain for many years, and made a life there. But most of the mas have been abandoned as people left for the city in search of an easier life, and there are many perils of living on the mountains - not least the wild boar and the hunters who roam across even private property in order to keep them under control.
Sacred Sierra follows Jason and Salud through their first year on the mountain.
We meet their neighbours, a colourful bunch of characters who live on the mountain. One is the fastest thing on crutches; another lives like a hermit further up the mountain and tells stories during the week - but on the weekend his wife comes to visit. All of these are beautifully and intriguingly rendered, and make for a good read. But it was Jason's details about the plant life in and around the mas that really captured my imagination.
There are olive and almond trees, all neglected, that he attempts to bring back into cultivation, rejoicing in even the tiniest harvest of their own nuts and olive oil. He plants a vegetable patch at the back of the house and embarks on an ambitious truffle tree project, both of which suffer from the attentions of the wild boar.
There's bee keeping adventures, mushroom foraging and ways to cook snails. And between each chapter there are renditions of Spanish stories - folk lore from the past. Enthralling, fascinating and informative, this is one 'travalogue' which shows you a lovely slice of life from a corner of Spain which is normally kept hidden, away from the glare of the well-known 'Costas'. There was plenty of interesting pieces of this book, but there wasn't much to hold it together.
The book is exhaustingly self-righteous and overwrought: That ridiculous conceit made me roll my eyes many times.
Having seen firsthand the horror of overdevelopment on the Spanish coastline, I understand Webster's disgust, but he is totally uncritical of his own participation in the development narrative. With all of Webster's conceit both literary and personal there's just enough of a hint of charm to keep me reading until the end. This is Jason Webster's story of his first year in the mountainside "mas" which he and his wife Salud move to, and begin to renovate both the cottage and the land.
As he works with the elements he narrates a wonderful story of the characters he meets and the friendships made, as well as his expansion of almond, olive and truffle farming. Each chapter, told in monthly parts, is started with a traditional folk tale from the area, which adds something extra to what is already a great and well written This is Jason Webster's story of his first year in the mountainside "mas" which he and his wife Salud move to, and begin to renovate both the cottage and the land. Each chapter, told in monthly parts, is started with a traditional folk tale from the area, which adds something extra to what is already a great and well written story.
This book was one that was recommended to me by Amazon on the basis of previous purchases and for once was spot on as something I really enjoyed and was sorry to finish.
Sacred Sierra by Jason Webster. Jason Webster had lived in Spain for 15 years when he and his partner Salud, a flamenco. Editorial Reviews. Review. "Webster has the endearing writer's knack of making us laugh and weep along with him written in the sympathetic tradition of Chris.
I'll be checking out his other books, as he is also a crime fiction writer, although I'd certainly read more tales from his mountainside too, where he ever to write more. I read 'Sacred Sierra' because I enjoyed - sort of - 'Duende', but more especially because I'm interested in 'sacred places'. Mr Webster captures the 'sacredness of the earth' of Penyagolosa wonderfully, using the mythology and history of the area and his own associations with Pendle Hill. I did worry, though, about the authenticity of the characters, something which must be the concern of all travel writers.
Personally, I wouldn't give the time of day to Paul Theroux for fear of being used to h I read 'Sacred Sierra' because I enjoyed - sort of - 'Duende', but more especially because I'm interested in 'sacred places'. Personally, I wouldn't give the time of day to Paul Theroux for fear of being used to his own purposes. Mr Webster seems far too sensitive and kind to risk hurting people with his descriptions.
Therefore, I can't help wondering if his characters are totally real. Maybe his switch to fiction is a wise move.