Out of all the other countries in the world, apart from the ones that make up Great Britain, Spain is the one I have spent most time in. As an adult learner, I’ve picked up some of the language, some of the culture and plenty of the food and drink. That was why I was keen to pick up a review copy of Gaspard Chevallier’s Everything you always wanted to know about the Spanish* (*but were afraid to ask).

Yes, that is a French name (Spain is his country adopted through marriage) and, yes, it does seem a bit strange to be reading an edition written in English but it works wonderfully well. Next time I sit down with a Spaniard, it will be interesting to find out what they make of it but it seems to match up on many of the things about which I do have some experience and so I’m inclined to give it a fair amount of credence.

Chevallier gives a humourist’s view of the foibles of Spain but he does so with warmth and generosity; he is clearly inside the world he is commentating on rather than taking potshots from a distance. There are several points which indicate that his view is about the current state of the nation which means it may date over the next few decades but, for now, this is an excellent resource for would-be Hispanophile Anglophones and, I suspect, for the Francophones as well, given the right edition.