"After three war years in the Army overseas I looked for the familiar in England, but found change. Perhaps it was the search for vanished ti3.5 stars
"After three war years in the Army overseas I looked for the familiar in England, but found change. Perhaps it was the search for vanished times that drew me back to Spain, which in some ways I knew better than my own country—a second homeland to be revisited when I could. Here the past, I suspected, would have been embalmed, and outside influence held at bay in a country absorbed in its domestic tragedy."
Travel writing has beckoned to me with its charms during recent years. Honestly, before joining Goodreads, I thought ‘travel’ books were primarily those little Fodor’s travel guides one would pick up before venturing on an upcoming trip. I really had no idea that there was an entire genre of narrative travel writing that could whisk you away to faraway places simply through the power of beautifully written words. Since this discovery, I have been adding ‘travel’ books to my mountainous pile at a rather swift rate. Voices of the Old Sea is one of those books that lured me in with the promise of a journey to the Mediterranean coast of Spain.
The author, Norman Lewis, was apparently one of the more renowned travel writers of his time (mainly post World War II.) A British journalist who traveled and wrote extensively, Lewis wrote this particular volume based on a period of three summers beginning in 1948, which he spent in the small coastal fishing village of what he called Farol. From what I understand, ‘Farol’ is a fictional name he devised in order to protect the identity of the real community. In any case, Farol was a town steeped in a culture that no longer exists today – rich in history and traditions that were quite interesting. Actually, I found that my visit to this coastal village was more of a travel back in time rather than a destination vacation. Lewis at first had difficulty making himself at home with the fishermen. They didn’t necessarily welcome outsiders with open arms. "The men of Farol hoarded words as their children collected the coloured pebbles on the beach." Eventually he found friendship with another outsider of sorts, a young man named Sebastian who happened to have a link with one of the more powerful women of the community – the Grandmother. Soon Lewis found himself offered hospitality at the local drinking establishment, where he came to learn many of the secrets and customs of the community. He went out on fishing expeditions thus learning of the arduous work involved in this type of livelihood.
The most fascinating part of this piece for me was the rather rapid transformation of this town from that of remote fishing village to that of a fashionable tourist attraction. With the arrival of an influential and likely shady businessman, Farol became the hot spot for French, German, Scandinavian and later English travelers seeking the beauty of a beach retreat. The people of Farol found themselves no longer gaining sustenance from the always fluctuating fishing economy, but to earning a living from the influx of foreign currency. Lewis seems to mourn the loss of the town’s identity while at the same time perhaps recognizing that the people will now have a more reliable source of income. Certainly I can understand both sides, and it is thanks to books like this that remind us of those irretrievable times gone by.
I’ve rated this book 3.5 stars, mainly because I appreciated very much what I learned from it. At times, it felt disjointed – probably due to the author’s back and forth travel to Farol. When I’m reading a travel narrative, I’m looking for the lovely, descriptive prose that paints a picture of the landscape. This better illustrated the people and the metamorphosis of an entire way of life – which is fascinating in itself, but is a matter of expectations I suppose. I didn’t so much travel to Spain but to a place in history. Keeping this in mind, anyone with an interest in such topics could easily enjoy this book. I’m going to try Naples ’44 next, which is Lewis’s masterpiece of sorts.
"One thing is certain. Here we have always been, and here, whatever happens, we shall remain, listening to the voices of the old sea."...more
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