Review: CIDER WITH ROSIE by Laurie Lee

[cynthia-t]

“I was set down from the carrier’s cart at the age of three; and there with a sense of bewilderment and terror my life in the village began”.
So starts CIDER WITH ROSIE by Laurie Lee. This author is famous in the UK for three autobiographical books, especially the first, CIDER WITH ROSIE which dealt with his childhood in a village in the Cotswolds in the West of England. It is a lyrical and haunting story of growing up in innocent times, of the quirky characters living in the village and the superstitions and beliefs of the old folk. With no computers or video games in those days, he and his 7 siblings play in a ruined cottage “. . . roof-fallen, in a garden run wild . . . . a damp dark ruin in the damp depth of the wood. To this silent, birdless, sunless shambles we returned again and again”. Poetry!!
At the age of 19 Laurie Lee leaves home to take a long rambling walk to London with his violin, busking along the way. He recounts his adventures in AS I WALKED OUT ONE MIDSUMMER MORNING. Because Spain is not so far away and because he knows a few words of Spanish, he decides to visit Iberia where he discovers and loves the Spanish way of life, and the senoritas discover and love him. Franco interrupts Laurie Lee’s Spanish adventure when the Civil War breaks out and he has to return to London. Undaunted, he returns to Spain to join the International Brigade. A MOMENT OF WAR recounts those experiences.
Cider with Rosie was required reading in schools and Universities in Britain.
He and his lyrical writings were revered in England and Spain and he received very many awards. In 1988 a statue was erected in a Spanish village in Iberia. In 1997 Laurie Lee died at the age of 82.
Unfortunately Laurie Lee is not well known in N.America and sadly his books might go out of print. They can be found on Kindle but the books themselves are not easily available. I would dearly like to promote the books of this great writer and to read about an innocent time long past.

[Zannie]

Thanks for the the review. I enjoy these type of books