Spanish - Advanced
This course is ideal for:
This programme is supported by Language for Fun, which encourages the study of characters, grammar, vocabulary, and other language aspects through the joy of reading.
About the book:
A claustrophobic story of desire and small town unease in the vein of Dogville or Coetzee’s Disgrace.
Fleeing from past mistakes, Nat leaves her life in the city for the rural village of La Escapa. She rents a small house from a negligent landlord, adopts a dog and begins to work on her first literary translation. But nothing is easy: the dog is ill tempered and skittish and misunderstandings with her neighbour’s thrum below the surface. When conflict arises over repairs to her house, Nat receives an unusual offer – one that tests her sense of self, challenges her prejudices, and reveals her most unexpected desires. As Nat tries to understand her decision, the community of La Escapa comes together in search of a scapegoat.
Now a feature film, directed by Isabel Coixet.
Selected as the ‘Best Book of 2020’ by El País, La Vanguardia, El Cultural and El Correo. Shortlisted by El Mundo, Forbes, Elle, W Magazine and La Nueva España.
Translated from Spanish by Katie Whittemore.
Course Location(s)
Course Teacher
Maria is from Barcelona, Solsona and Menorca but has lived in England for the past twenty-three years. In her professional career she thrived at organising events and managing marketing initiatives for companies in the tourist sector.
Maria is very sociable and she is possibly one of the most known people in St. Albans. As a keen host she loves cooking and having people around her house. She is involved in the community and volunteers at a local homeless centre. Maria lives with her husband, her two children, a couple of Watford footballers and 2 guinea pigs. And most importantly, her house is always your house.
In the past, Maria has had many requests for translation, helping children with Spanish, meeting up friends to help them improve their conversational skills etc, and a couple of years ago she decided to make a living out of it and started teaching Spanish officially. And the rest is history !
