Jesus, his voluptuous wife Begonia and their three daughters - Concepcion, Purificacion and Dilatacion - decide they are just too happy in their native Andalusia. After all, they only have an orange farm, a perfect climate and an idyllic, if simple, lifestyle. But this is not enough. They feel the need to experience life in a dysfunctional, consumerist, violent city where it rains all the time. And having seen a TV show featuring a ranting Protestant Reverend, they find what they are looking for. And so it's hey ho and off to Ulster in search of La Dolce Vita.
For absolute beginners, the Sanchez Venturas cope astonishingly well with the switch from a Southern to a Northern culture. The highlight of Begonia's life in her native Spain has been the rat race - no, not the synonym for earning a living, but literally the annual competition to see whose trained rat can run the fastest. But in Belfast she instantly blossoms into a dynamic, power-dressing businesswoman whose commercial exploits propel her to the front pages of the English tabloids. In particular, her relationship with the French athlete Pierre Le Concombre raises quite a few eyebrows.
Meanwhile Jesus is left holding the babies - much to his macho chagrin - yet he gradually manages to leave a much more indelible impression on Ulster society. In fact, he solves "The Troubles" single-handedly - without fully realizing what he has achieved. But you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs, and on the way he alienates a large number of authority figures: his Professor at R.U.B. (the Royal University of Belfast), where he falsifies academic reports; the social services, intent on prosecuting him for his unorthodox parenting techniques (one of which involves placing his daughters in a wheelie bin and using it as a centrifuge); and bearded representatives from the RSPB, who wrongly accuse him of hunting endangered species. Yet he makes many friends among the ordinary people of Ulster: bloodthirsty paramilitaries; his tattooed neighbour with the Doberman and silicone partner; and not forgetting the yummy mummies at his daughters' school - in particular Audrey of the unforgettable nipples.
Quite simply, there are belly laughs on every page of this ingenious novel, and no sacred cow is left unmolested. Jesus's shaky yet hyper-confident command of the English language alone creates original and hilarious malapropisms galore. Yet for all its unflinching bang-on satire, this is a big-hearted book - yes it pokes fun at everybody, but there is a genuine warmth and affection for the people of Northern Ireland that shines through. And Christopher Marsh should know what he's talking about - he's lived and worked there for many years.
