When I said I was moving from northern Spain to Seville, the same warning came from every northerner I knew: those Andalusians always act so friendly, but watch out, you can't trust them. I found this puzzling, for the only thing I'd want to trust them to be was friendly, however superficially; I didn't expect them to save my life, or even to keep my non-existent secrets. In Seville too I was continually warned against other people, in a dark but vague way. Men, especially, claimed with gloomy pride to have no friends because they couldn't 'trust' anyone. Privately I concluded that this must be a hangover from recent Spanish history, a reflex that had outlived its causes. Only a generation ago, after all, you had to be pretty careful what you said and to whom.

LRB 2 June 2005 | PDF Download