Granada

January 12, 2015
Writing in poetic prose, Nightingale (The Lost Coast) presents a historical, mystical, and personal travelogue of Granada, Spain. More broadly, Nightingale introduces readers to the amalgamated Andalusian culture of Islamic, Jewish, and Christian roots. Contemplating the intellectual corpus of al-Andalus—an 800-year kingdom ruled by Muslim emirs and Christian kings, advised by Jewish courtiers—Nightingale sketches out the far-reaching influence of Andalusian civilization. He invites readers into his labyrinthine neighborhood in Granada, the Albayzín, and into the lush love and tender repose of his own garden and family. Weaving the two together, al-Andalus and the Albayzín, Nightingale unleashes centuries of the “uncommon energies, exploratory zeal, and systematic rigor” of Granada, presenting its poetry, philosophy, music, art, mysticism, mathematics, literature, governance, and religious pluralism as “a schoolroom where we might learn.” Nightingale’s intimate reflections and succulent style present a textured picture of the city and its people, culture, and antiquity. Armchair travelers will find themselves easily lured through the portals of history hidden in brick and mortar, tiles and tilled gardens. Photos.

November 15, 2014
Poet and novelist Nightingale (The Wings of What You Say, 2013, etc.) makes his nonfiction debut in this rhapsodic paean to the Spanish city, where he, his wife and young daughter now live part of each year. For the author, Granada is nothing less than idyllic, with verdant, sun-dappled gardens fragrant with orange blossoms; enchanting labyrinthine lanes; and a "rambunctious diversity" of friendly, gentle and wise neighbors who display a "helpless love" for children: "They know that children have been recently formed in heaven and so on earth need special devotions." A "sainted notary and his equally blessed wife" provided housing for Nightingale and his family while their house was being renovated by nimble craftsmen, one "with the bearing of an Arab prince." In spring, the "garden and house embraced one another, took up an amorous life together," and sprouted grapevines and honeysuckle that grew into the bedrooms. In search of Granada's glorious past, though, Nightingale discovers brutality. While the city thrived during the "lustrous" Al-Andalus period, from 700 to 1492, when Muslims, Christians and Jews coexisted, for the most part amicably, and arts and sciences flourished, conditions changed dramatically in 1492, when Ferdinand and Isabella decided to purge the area of Jews and Muslims. During the Spanish Inquisition, mosques and synagogues were razed, property confiscated, more than 5,000 books burned, and those who refused to convert to Catholicism were massacred. By 1620, the once-populous city was reduced to 6,000 who lived among rubble. In the next three centuries, the deterioration worsened, and the city became a refuge for anarchists; during the Spanish Civil War, fascists took hold. Not until 1994, when it was named a World Heritage Site, did Granada begin to revive. A romantic, at times overly sentimental homage to a city "perfected by catastrophe" and transformed into a place of "concentrated joy."

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March 1, 2015

Many travel stories focus on a fish-out-of-water, inexperienced family moving to a foreign land and their trials and tribulations while buying and remodeling a house, but this book puts a twist on the genre and does not really focus on the family reboot of home and life. Nightingale (a writer and poet) and his family moved into the Albayzin neighborhood (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) in the city of Granada, Spain, right across from the historic Alhambra, bought and remodeled a home with a garden. But that's just the backstory. What the author really wants to talk about is the beauty and brutality of the history that has taken place in this area for hundreds of years among the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim populations. VERDICT While readers might wish for more cute anecdotes about the author and his family and their adventures in an unfamiliar country, this book takes readers on a different historical path. Armchair travel enthusiasts and those who are interested in Spanish and Islamic history will enjoy this tale.--Melissa Aho, Univ. of Minnesota Bio-Medical Lib., Minneapolis

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2015
Poet and novelist Nightingale has penned an unabashed love song to Granada, his adopted city. Settling down in this idyllic southern Spanish city with his wife and young daughter, he quickly became the town cheerleader, recording and relating the wonders of this scenic and ethnically diverse oasis. Extolling Granada's contemporary virtues and describing the Islamic, Christian, and Jewish influences that have contributed to its unique multicultural flavor, he also reaches back into the distant past for a fascinating historical overview. Although the town flourished as an intellectual and artistic center during the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance years, Ferdinand and Isabella's conquest of Granada and the attendant Spanish Inquisition presaged a centuries-long period of repression and destruction. Rediscovered by scholars, tourists, and legions of students in the late twentieth century, Granada has reemerged as a tolerant and cosmopolitan blend of Mediterranean cultures.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)