Great Fun Audiobook

This was a pretty great listen, with several moments that had me laughing out loud. I have been to Spain many times, and have English friends who did the whole pack up and move thing... there was a lot of information that some don't consider in moving abroad, and the family really are put through the mill. And I've seen some of that with what my own friends have been through. There could have been some more details on the process of how and what the paperwork was involved, but I wasn't sure if the author had actually been through the process themselves and it might have been a lot more research than they were wanting to do. But it did still give us a good insight into what can happen, what can go wrong and how families pull together of course.

Of the two sister what an adventure they have themselves, leaving their parents with many a problem to worry over, without the stuff they're going through themselves.

Richard has a lovely tone to his voice, and he did a good job with the narration. I am eager to see what he does next :)

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Cheerful Escapism

Feeling a little under the English weather of late and in much need of a sunny holiday, I scrolled through audible to find something with warmth and humour to cheer me up!
Fiestas and Siestas... hmmmm sounds lighthearted and fun !!
There were only a couple of reviews, one was not good ... going on about the terrible Spanish accents of the reader etc and one seemed to enjoy, so I decided to try it.
I am so glad that I did as I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the Cuthbertson family. I found this book a joy to listen to, a warm, whitty, wonderful escapism, I shed a tear and empathised at the loss of a parent, the emails from the daughters tickled me, and reminded me of my own children's escapades !! The authors interaction with the locals and their customs made me laugh. On the whole this writing was an uplifting read. Please, please Alan Cuthbertson and Family, invite us all to ur next Fiesta, would so love to read more of how you are all viviendo la vida en Espana. Oh, and by the way, I have studied the Spanish language and owned a villa in Spain, the accents by the narrator just added to the warmth and fun of the storytelling, made me smile and lifted my spirits even more. Thanks for the tonic

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Lighthearted account of life as an ex-pat in Spain

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Difficult to say.

What was most disappointing about Alan Cuthbertson’s story?

Having lived in Spain for 16 years, I found several unnecessary factual errors which were annoying. The author obviously does live in Spain but should have taken greater care with his facts.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

When choosing a narrator for a book including a spattering of foreign words, it would be better to have someone with at least a knowledge of the correct pronunciation of that language. Also, there is a section in the book which deals with the Spanish people's inability to pronounce the author's wife's name but the narrator pronounces certain sounds incorrectly which, not only is detracting, but also makes this part of the story a bit pointless.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Boredom.

Any additional comments?

Not a bad book but probably not for those who've done the same thing. This genre is led by Chris Stewart's "Driving Over Lemons" - this book is a poor imitation.

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