The Spanish Girl
by Eugene Vesey
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Pub Date Apr 21 2022 | Archive Date Oct 14 2022
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Description
The Spanish Girl is a love story, but one with an unexpected ending. Frank Walsh, a young teacher in 1980s London, is unhappily married to Rania, a young Guyanese girl who was a student in one of his English classes.
Rania runs to Frank to escape from her overbearing Muslim family. She is also looking for a surrogate father, her biological father having died when she was a child.
Frank takes Rania in. However, he soon realises they are incompatible, their coexistence made unbearable by a clash of personalities and cultures. He feels trapped: he doesn't have the heart to leave Rania, because it would mean sending her back to her oppressive family; it would also mean finding himself alone again.
While teaching on a summer school in Dublin, Frank falls in love with Ana, a Spanish girl in his class. He hopes Ana will be his escape route from his unhappy marriage. But his love for Ana hits a wall he never expected.
Then someone else unexpectedly comes into his life. He falls in love again, but it's a love far more powerful than anything he has ever experienced or imagined before.
Advance Praise
"Five big stars for this beautiful story. I wanted to read The Spanish Girl, because I visit Spain quite a lot. A beautiful novel that’s very well written. I could picture Frank Walsh a teacher falling in love with a Spanish Girl in Dublin, even though he is in an unhappy marriage. Chapter one was was my favourite as I really liked the conversation at the beginning of the book.' Book2readtoday. amazon.co.uk. 25.4.22
'I must admit, I usually hate real people being on covers but with this book it totally worked and set the perfect tone. I do love a romance but this was probably a bit too real for me, whereas I like a joyful fictional romance where you know from the outset that everyone is going to live happily ever after! This was enjoyable though, easy to read and I loved the mixed media; reading diary entries and letters helped us to see their relationship more intimately. Something a bit different but I would recommend it.'
duckfacekim09 on instagram
'I thought this was an interesting read. It had a lot to do with religion and the time period, it gave a really good insight to that time period and peoples beliefs. I loved the Spanish dialect throughout the book, I think it gave more of a realistic feel to it and brought the Spanish culture more alive throughout the book. I don't really know how I feel about Frank. I think he is unsure by what he wants out of life and how to go about dealing with Ana and Rania. You can tell that Ana and Frank are head over heels for each other but there is a lot of uncertainty by both parties, each for differing reasons. Ana has been brought up by her strict, Catholic father and has been told not to have sex before marriage etc. Frank is a young, unhappy-in-love man who is in a relationship with Rania but falls in love with Ana whilst teaching in Dublin. I thought it was quite a fast-paced book and I loved how it was almost diary entry-ish.'
Sambooka23 Netgalley & ARC Reviewer
'I was keen to read this as I loved the sound of the synopsis. It's a love story (not a cozy slushy romance) and it feels very real. I've not quite finished reading all the book. I'm about 3/4 of the way through (page 209out of 310) but I've enjoyed what's been read so far. The book is set in the 1980s with the main character Frank, a teacher, unhappily married to Rania, who was once a student of Frank's. Frank feels trapped in his marriage. During a Summer School trip to Dublin, Frank meets and falls in love with another student, Ana, from his classes. Frank thinks this love affair could be the way out of his unhappy marriage. It's well written, and I particularly liked the parts that are set out as letters from Ana to Frank, and the diary entries.'
Claire@c.isfor.claire_reads (blog)"
Available Editions
| ISBN | 9781914498978 |
| PRICE | £3.79 (GBP) |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Aria H, Reviewer
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. I learnt alot about the culture and religious aspects of the story without it being overbearing. The writing was engaging and I found the storyline to be compelling with good character development. I also loved the formatting of the book.
KindleLover 1, Reviewer
The premise of the book sounds like this is going to be a romance novel. It has romance in it but the saccharine sweetness kind. We see the through the eyes of the main character what is happening with the women in his life. He feels like that he's struck in a loveless marriage, but it's of his own doing. Guilt and being afraid of being alone is just a few things that is keeping him with his wife. He has fallen love with his student. We see the internal struggles that he is going through. Frank is complex character and author does a great job bringing out his anxieties and flaws. This story is nothing what I expected it to be because of synopsis of the story. If you're looking for a story that has complex characters, and relationships this a great story to read.
Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
