Last month, La Casa Amarilla in Arrecife opened an exhibition dedicated to “Ten Books for One Island”.
The idea had arisen in 2020, when the Cabildo’s statistics centre asked several cultural figures on the island to select the books that they felt were most symbolic of the island. Once the results had been gathered, a list of the ten most frequently chosen books was drawn up.
The exhibition, curated by Pepe Betancort, devotes space to each of the books, with explanations in Spanish and English, examples of the original publication and specially commissioned contemporary artworks by local artists.
THE 10 ESSENTIAL BOOKS ARE:
1. ‘Le Canarien’: The first Canarian chronicle, written 600 years ago by two French priests who accompanied the conquistadores.
2. The Majos: The Primitive Population of Lanzarote – José C. Cabrera Pérez, Antonia Perera Betancort & Antonio Tejera Gaspar. A superb work of research on Lanzarote’s aboriginal peoples.
3. Through the Lava Fields – Eduardo HernándezPacheco. An account of a 1907 geological expedition to Lanzarote’s volcano country.
4. Lanzarote – Agustín de la Hoz Betancort. An essential work by Lanzarote’s most brilliant historian and chronicler.
5. Lanzarote, Extraordinary Architecture – César Manrique. Manrique’s fascinating record of the strange and wonderful buildings of Lanzarote.
6. Treasures of the Island -Santiago Alemán. A selection of beautiful drawings of Lanzarote wildlife and architecture.
7. The Limpet – Ángel Guerra. A short story collection that reflects the tough life on Lanzarote in the late 19th century.
8. Lancelot, ’28º-7º. Comprehensive Guide to an Atlantic Island – Agustín Espinosa. One of the key texts of Canarian surrealism.
9. Mararía – Rafael Arozarena. A sweeping romantic novel set in Femés, which was filmed in 1998.
10. Lanzarote Notebooks – José Saramago. The Nobel laureate’s notes on the island where he chose to spend the last decades of his life.
SEVEN ENGLISH TITLES
Unfortunately for English-language readers, we haven’t been able to discover any English translations of the ten books chosen for the exhibition. Consequently, we’ve gathered a further seven books available in English that would be an essential element of any Lanzarote library.
1. The History of the Discovery and Conquest of the Canary Islands. George Glas. The Scottish trader’s translation of a Spanish manuscript is enlivened by his own contemporary observations of the islands.
2. Tenerife and its Six Satellites – Olivia Stone. Engagingly written travel book by a formidable Victorian lady traveller.
3. Lanzarote: A Hiking Guide – Ignacio Perera. Full of fascinating information and local knowledge, this is a splendid book by one of the island’s most experienced walking guides.
4. The Island of Volcanoes – Roger Trend. A British geologist explains Lanzarote’s volcanic origins in another beautiful publication by Ediciones Remotas.
5. Lanzarote – Michel Houellebecq. A short, cynical novella by France’s enfant terrible.
6. Islands of Fortune – Ed Kemplar. Sweeping historical fiction set in the earliest days of the conquest.
7. The British Connection To Lanzarote And The Canaries – Larry Yaskiel. An engaging account of 600 years of trade, tourism and cultural links.
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