Wild Olives: Life in Majorca With Robert Graves

The book was a fascinating read. It was a wonderful and revealing description of life in Deia, Mallorca by a person who was at first an outsider from his English birthplace who became a true Mallorcan, part of the fabric of his new home. It also was an heartfelt story of a child of a famous, but at times, eccentric poet, novelist father. For anyone who has had to endure a parent's deviation from a "normal" marriage, this story will touch you. Having a famous and brilliant, older father who wasn't dictated, at times, by conventional marital commitment was a test William Graves was able to triumph over and achieve a different type of success in life beneath the shadow of a literary giant.

I was in Majorka in May 2019 and to read more about the history and how things developed, was an eye opener. Many questions were answered in this book. The book reads easily and keeps you turning the pages.

This is a hard book to find, I’m very happy!

William Graves is the oldest son of Robert Graves (best remembered for  I, Claudius: From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius  and  Good-Bye to All That: An Autobiography ) from his second marriage and moved to the village of Deia (or Deya) on the Spanish island of Majorca (or Mallorca) with his family at age 6 in 1947."I, Claudius" is one of my favorite books - this is how I think of the father Robert, however I gather in the academic world his is known more for being a poet and scholar of ancient myths, biblical stuff etc. That was one interesting tidbit from this book, that Robert wrote "I, Claudius" just to make money and considered it a potboiler. Funny, I thought it was great but I guess that is the difference between an academic and a regular reader.The focus of this book is not Robert but William and his life on Deia, he considered it magical and home. He discusses how he saw it change from an authentic village to a pseudo-artist hippie hangout with most of the traditional occupations replaced by jobs to support the tourist industry. Really the whole village was completely transformed in its look and character within 25 years. How strange that must have been to the villagers.I drove thru Deia a few years ago and it is so stunning, and there were so many tourists, I couldn't help but wonder how wonderful it might have been when it was still real and isolated so it was interesting and a little sad to read about the transformation.Unlike most writers, Robert seems highly productive and disciplined and domestic, there every day like a regular father. Of course he has some digressions with his search for the 'muse' but it was nice to read what a regular dad he was, not the best dad but a dad nevertheless.But if you have never been to Deia, I doubt this book would be of much interest as so much is about life in the village. Unless a real fan of Robert Graves and want something so supplement his many biographies.

This is a beautifully written account of an exceptional childhood set in the period after WW2 in Deya, Mallorca. A very interesting perspective of a child born into the family of Robert Graves, the war poet, who absorbed both cultures as well as trying to make sense of a complex family grouping. William Graves is a talented writer, who invites you into his Deya paradise from page 1. Has similarities to My Family and other animals in that you can visualise the simple beauty of a place through a child's eyes and the what actually is important to a child, despite what adults think.Excellent, creative writing. The emotional side of being a son to a complex creative individual who was actually highly controlling and selfish, but understandably so given his history and his Art.Fantastic to read on many levels, including that of post war Spanish history.

I had the pleasure of reading a little of this book when working with William Graves (he was a geologist working off-shore at the time). He called it then, I think, Breaking Away. Anyway, at last I have managed to get my act together to purchase read the book! I enjoyed it very much indeed. William portrays very well the sunny (though not quite lazy) atmosphere of his young days growing up in Majorca with a famous father. One small thing, Vaughan Williams was never knighted - he refused a knighthood on more than once occasion, though he did accept an OM later.Very enjoyable - recommended.

I didn't know what to expect when I bought this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed the Author's story, very evocative of the later Franco era, where the ancient Majorcan way of life was still respectfully and dutifully followed. It details his famous father's many 'eccentric' periods, where it left his then wife and children strongly influenced, by such a gifted artistic individual, but they endured this, whilst living in this ruggedly beautiful unspoilt area of the Island. Wonderfully written, sometimes happy and sometimes sad, but a beautifully descriptive and lovingly told story of this period in time. I totally recommend reading this delightful story

I love this book and I am jealous of William's idyllic childhood in the unspoilt heaven that was the Med. His description of his parents is not complete because children have big gaps and selective memories. But they certainly had a good life. He also covers the changes vis a vie Franco, tourism and modernisation which has swept away almost all of "the way things were".

Having read his father's autobiography, it was lovely to read William's . I read both whilst holidaying in pollenca which enhanced the experience no end . A lovely insight into majorca before mass tourism and William's extraordinary childhood ..a good read.