i just wanted to be the first to post anything :)

I bought this book because I was interested in the Spanish Civil war. You get three books in one, which is great. I'd read Cider with Rosie when I was at school, but not since, and I was disappointed when I read it again - I remembered it being so much better! Laurie Lee is heavy on description, which makes for slow reading, and basically very little happened during his childhood years.

As I walked out one midsummer morning is Lee's account of a trip he made to Spain just before the start of the civil war. It's very bizarre in places - he goes to Spain with £5 in his pocket, his passport and his violin. A lot of the rest of the story is about food, since he was usually stony broke and starving! It seems to be a romantised account though - either that or he really did meet every eccentric, unusual or downright mad person in Spain.

A moment of war takes over where the previous book left off. Lee returns to Spain to join the International Brigade and help fight the fascists (as Hemmingway did). I found this story quite disturbing, because it showed just how easy it was for an untrained, very young English boy to become part of a badly equipped and ultimately hopeless struggle.

Overall, this is not a book that I would consider enjoyable - a lot of it is just too bleak. But it does give you a good insight into what life was like in Spain just before and during the Civil War, and you get a classic read in Cider with Rosie to boot.

Cider with Rosie existe-t-il en francais

The tired thoughts of a tired old man. Anyone other than Laurie would never have had this book published. Cliche ridden & fatuous.