A Cottage in Portugal |  | Authors: Richard Hewitt, Richard M. Hewitt, Barbara Finn-hewitt, Simon
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $22.00
Buy New: $3.50
You Save: $18.50 (84%)
New (1) Used (23) from $0.63
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 948296
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.9 x 1
ISBN: 0684813130
Dewey Decimal Number: 946.942004130092
EAN: 9780684813134
ASIN: 0684813130
Publication Date: 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
A high-spirited account follows the experiences of Richard and Barbara Hewitt, who left the United States to renovate a three-hundred-year-old cottage in a remote Portuguese village. 15,000 first printing.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
A Cottage in Portugal March 6, 2004
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I loved this book, but I may be biased because I love Portugal and want to live near Sintra, where this story takes place. It's very amusing... chuckles all the way, with an occasional guffaw.
 WARNING! November 21, 2002
0 out of 11 found this review helpful
HELLO! IAM READ THIS BOOK AND EVERYTHING IS TRUE. BUT THE EXAMPLES ARE NOT ONLY THE BUREAUCRACY:
EVERYBODY ARE THE SAME. SO, PLEASE, IF YOU WILL GO TO PORTUGAL TO A TRIP ON HOLIDAYS, OK: THE CLIMATE, FOOD AND THE CLICHES.
BUT IF YOU LIVE A PERIOD OF TIME, PLEASE: NEVER, NEVER DO BUSINESS! PEOPLE DOESN'T LIKE TO WORK, REALLY. READ THE BOOK AGAIN AND TRANSFER THE EXAMPLES (BUREAUCRACY, HIS EMPLOYES ON THE HOUSE, ETC.) FOR EVERYBODY: BUSINESSMAN, SHOPS, INDUSTRIES, RICHS, POORS: IT'S ALL THE SAME, DOESN'T LIKE TO WORK, ARE RUDE, TREAT YOU "DRY", ONLY SPEAK ABOUT SOCCER (AND THEY ARE A LOOSERS AND HAVE ZILLIONS OF EXCUSES FOR THAT) AND YOU WILL LOST YOUR TIME, HEALTH AND MONEY. RUN! PLEASE.
PS: AND THIS BOOK IS ONLY A RESUME, BECAUSE ARE MORE AND MORE BAD SITUATIONS THAT YOU COULDN'T IMAGINE. DON'T DO BUSINESS IN PORTUGAL, DON'T WORK, DON'T BELIEVE IN "SMILES": RUN NOW!
Funny, very funny April 4, 2000
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I'm "giving" only 4 stars to this book, because I think that the details about the Portuguese Public Services are a bit exagerated sometimes. But Richard and Barbara got the "portuguese spirit" allright... Also the way they describe Sintra (such a special environment), it's very much true. Wait untill you read "A cottage in Portugal II"...
A funny description of the portuguese way of living October 6, 1999
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is the story of the first few months in Portugal of Mr. Hewitt, an american who came to Portugal with his wife to live in a small village near Sintra. The descriptions of his deals with the various departments of the portuguese burocracy are definitely hilarious, and sound absolutely true. Although written about events that took place in 1985-6, most of the picture one gets rings true even today. A funny book.
 overall pleasant January 21, 1999
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
After having found "A year in Provence" one of the most addictive books I ever read, and having been born and raised in Portugal, I just had to order this book. I give it three stars for the story telling skills and overall pleasant writing style of the author. However, (and I may be biased) I suspect the author may have gone overboard with his assessment of the local culture, describing appalling characters with tiresome and patronizing regularity. Although I have experienced my share of bureaucratic frustrations in Portugal, he was either incredibly unlucky or let his imagination fill in the blanks to make for a more interesting read. Either way, it worked: I enjoyed the book. The beautiful ink drawings are icing on the cake.
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