A. M. Afifi, There is a Tide

There is a Tide by Am Afifi is full of larger than life characters and explained a lot of things I found puzzling about the Portuguese and their culture. Grandad Salvador's stories are great and Alexander his grandson is so typical of a teenager wanting to experience life to the full. His first love affair is delicate, sensetive and lovely. Lots of tension amongst villagers of Santola fishing village as they fight against the comercial big guns aimed at their paradise by the sea. You ban taste the drird figs, chorizo, chicken piri piri and taste Salvador's fiery medronho. A great read before or after a visit to Portugal

A. M. Afifi's "There is a Tide" is the story of a boy and his grandfather in Portugal just before it got all commercialised. The boy just wants a scooter and thinks it's unfair his sister has everything (usual bickering), the grandfather knows lots of poetry and stories and is well known in the village for telling a story at the drop of a hat. Nothing much seems to happen, but it does and it's just a snapshot of a part of a village's life with the boy growing up, the carnival coming to town and the greedy local restaurant owner getting his come-uppance.