Eindejaarsattentie van Drukkerij Sanderus. Niet in de handel.

Now I want to go to Spain and look at paintings again. Mannnnnnn. ( )

Es este un inteligente libro de viajes de un esplendido autor holandes enamorado profundamente de Espana y dueno tambien de una erudicion poco comun. Cees Nooteboom encarna al viajero que siempre se deja tentar por los caminos laterales, y aunque su destino es Santiago de Compostela, se detiene en Aragon, pasa por Granada, busca enSoria el abside de una iglesia, hace escala en la isla de La Gomera o en los pasillos vacios del museo del Prado. Tambien su prosa se desvia y se interna por gozosas digresiones, a veces literarias, a veces politicas, ironicas, eruditas o melancolicas. Hay en su mirada un asombro que transfigura la realidad y convierte esta obra en una minuciosa guia para recorrer el corazon de Espana.

Prepared to be swept away by Nooteboom's luxurious descriptions of Spain. Everything seen through his lens is treated with lavish prose. I could see the styles of Roman and Gothic architecture as if I were standing in front of each structure. Renaissance and Baroque art come to life with vivid reality. I now want to visit the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela with its pillars marked with fingerprints. While Nooteboom subtitles his book "a modern-day pilgrimage" we look in on the 8th century in a time of Beatus, King Silo, and the Carolingian Empire. Nooteboom draws parallels between Antigone of Sophocles and the Spanish state after Euzkadi ta Askatsuna targeted violence. We dance between historical and modern Spain with personal anecdotes thrown in for good measure. Aside from the beautiful writing, Nooteboom included stunning black and white photographs. Too bad they are not in color. ( )

The sole deficit, is its detail, some citations ran along and blurred Nooteboom's intent. otherwise, it was superb in long form as Nomad Hotel was in miniature. ( )