The End of the Sherry

The End of the Sherry recounts what happens to a young American who finds himself abandoned in southern Spain in 1965 with a dog and a dubious car, stumbles into work as a nightclub pianist, and stays for three improbable years. His own adventures blossom into a portrait of provincial Spain toward the end of the Franco dictatorship - bleakness that breaks into unexpected hilarity even as the author discovers his calling as a person and a writer. His return to Spain after the death of Franco puts it all into perspective.