I was very excited when I started reading the book. The description of the dancing and the rhythm. Her words were so melodic and beautiful.

Unfortunately, when I got to the Spanish dialogues... it was incredibly disappointing to see how little research Ms. Bird did for The Flamenco Academy.

The Spanish grammar errors unforgivable. As I read and marked error after error, I finally came to the conclusion that Ms. Bird did not intend for her novel to be read by Spanish-speakers (much less Castilian Spanish-speakers). It was as if she had read some random book for tourists visiting Spain or did a summer internship at the Universidad de Granada when she was in college and felt she was expert enough to write a novel based on a culture too complex or dignified for her to translate into her own words. Ambitious, but wrong.

This shows very little respect for an audience that could have really enjoyed her novel. It's as if she had said to herself, "They won't read this."

Some of the basic mistakes she made in her book could have been avoided by looking it up in a dictionary, basic Spanish grammar book, asking a Spanish-speaking friend or expert (from Spain, specifically, as the book is deals with characters from that country).

Although Ms. Bird clearly understands the feeling behind Flamenco dancing, Spain and its language are not present in her novel. Great mistake, as you can't have Flamenco without Spain.


PS: Jehovah's Witnesses CAN indeed shave their legs and armpits.

PS2: People from the Philippines do not speak Spanish fluently. Unless, they've grown up in Spain.