Product Description

Following a popular, if somewhat jaded, trend of Brits to pursue the good life in sunnier climes, Deborah Fletcher and her husband John eventually came to be the proud owners of a large and extremely beautiful piece of land in a river valley in Southern Spain. There, with three dogs, a cat, six parrots and an awful lot of spiders, they lived between a static caravan and a huge old barn as they battled perpetually - with the elements, the wildlife, the authorities and the natives - to build their dream home from a pile of old stones. "Bitten by Spain" began as a series of emails back home to let friends and family know how things were going. Now, you too, can share in this intimate, warts and all, take on Spanish rural life and what it's like learning to live with the wildlife, including the natives, in a finca in el campo of Southern Spain.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42657 in Books
• Published on: 2008-12-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 188 pages

Review
With a great deal of humour, Debs describes life in a remote
valley, while she and her husband are renovating a shed into a liveable house with all the modern commodities necessary for us Northern Europeans. All the while their Spanish neighbours are watching, shaking their heads.
Wild life, in the form of spiders, wild boars and scorpions;
pets - whether dogs, cats or cockatoos; neighbourly courtesies, being over-the-fence exchange of produce or at special occasions, are all things anybody who has settled among the Spanish in a rural environment can relate to. Debs describes it with a wonderful sense of humour - aiming both at our peculiar set ways as well as our hosts'.
It is easy reading, full of humour and love for the Spanish
way of life. I enjoyed reading it because it is the first book I have come across that I can relate to after 12 years of sharing my life with the Murcians.
Read it - it is a true description of rural Murcian life from an expat's point of view!
Biggy Marshall, Murcia
A book I read avidly, having started greedily after shelving
the current. Hard to put down as it's like being there! It's a
well written book full of interest and humour.
Paul Spooner
I could have read this book in one go but I savoured it over
two sessions. It was brilliant. Wish it was longer! Look forward
to the next one.
Shari Ferari
Your book arrived, and I dived straight into it and forgot to
make the old man any dinner . It's a really good read, and it's
just as if I was listening to you on the phone - you write so
descriptively and confidently that the pages just fly by! I have
pretty much decided that there are far too many spiders and
nowhere near enough wine for my liking, and that you have
achieved what most women would have nightmares about!
Susan Beck
Both Sonia and I so very much enjoyed reading Deb's book,
Spiders and Wine. Neither of us could put the book down. It
was so entertaining with many laughs and quite a number of
things we so easily identify with.
Jim and Sonia Bishop --The Costa Calida Chronicle, July 2008

Review
This book covers many of the humorous aspects of living
temporarily in a static caravan in the Murcian campo
whilst trying to create (illegally, as it turned out) a home
from an old casita! It describes many of the Spanish habits
and foibles, the surroundings, the climate, and all the
wildlife with which Deborah herself co-exists, including
her ever increasing zoo of parrots, dogs and cats.
This book is an interesting, funny and realistic story of a
British couple and their move to the north-west area of
Murcia, the trials and tribulations, good happenings and
the kindness of neighbours, along with the inherent
difficulties and the anticipated joys of moving to sunny,
complicated, sometimes frustrating but always
fascinating Spain.
Anyone interested in Spain, moving to Spain or who has
actually moved here will enjoy this well written and
absorbing account, which grew out of Deborah sending
emails to friends and family detailing her daily
happenings and all the ordinary and not so ordinary
things which make up the life of this ex-pat couple.
Anyone who enjoys a good read particularly about the
love affair the British have with Spain (albeit sometimes a
love-hate relationship) will enjoy this book!
Clare Smith

From the Author
I sat alone in a static caravan on our newly-acquired piece of north-west Murcia in March 2007. Well, no - I say alone, but in fact I enjoyed the company of a couple of dogs, a cat and five parrots. It was stormy, dark and lonely. I had no telephone, no books to read, no TV. Not even a bottle of wine to dull the pain. So I started to write.
I subsequently wrote little pieces regularly (a blog, if you like) to e-mail to distant friends and family. These bore tales of all the big and small events unfolding in my new life here, many challenging, many humourous. I told of the wild and beautiful scenery, the sometimes wonderful, oftimes awful weather I suffered. I spoke of the antics of the animals (and the additions to same), the ways of the Spanish neighbours and townsfolk, the interactions with the tradesmen and the Ayuntamiento, the wildlife .... and when all these little pieces came together and were shaped and stretched and pummelled to fit together, they became "Bitten by Spain".

Customer Reviews

HYSTERICAL !
Deborah's book, Bitten by Spain, is absolutely brilliant! I rarely laugh out loud, especially late at night reading in bed, but this book has had me shrieking with laughter, risking waking up both my cat (who pails into insignificance compared to Deborah's menagerie of deranged animals) and my son!

I cannot recommend this quick, laugh out loud read more highly - BUY IT!

Bitten by Spain
Having just finished reading this book I felt I should share my views with you. This book describes the life of a couple who have sold up in the UK and moved to Spain. They first bought a typical villa in a small village - the sort that most English people buy when going to Spain. They were not happy with the place and therefore bought a plot of land and rebuilt the finca that was on it. In the meantime they lived in a caravan on site. John, the husband, commutes from England (where he works as a firefighter)whilst leaving Deborah to live on her own(except for her dogs, parrots and cats). The book tells of their life in Spain until the house is built. You learn how they see the Spanish and how the Spanish see them. The book is written with an excellent sense of humour and yet at the same time you wonder how Deborah could cope on her own for such long period of times in such difficult conditions.

This book is a must read for anyone thinking of moving to Spain permanatly or who wants to know about the Spanish way of life.

Bitten by Spain
A fantastic, funny and beautifully written book describing life in Spain for a lively British ex-pat, her part-time, jet-setting husband John and their collection of animals.

Deborah Fletcher has written a book which reflects life in Murcia. No rose-tinted specs in sight! For those brave enough to jump this is a must read. But beware, you will be completely hooked...by this book and by Spain!

A fabulous read and one I highly recommend to all.

In conclusion...I can't wait for the next book!