My Half Orange
A Story of Love and Language in Seville
In his late thirties, John Julius Reel left his native New York for Seville, hoping to reinvent himself, find his voice as a writer, and cast off the shadow of his famous father. When his girlfriend dumped him after a month-long visit, the last tie was cut, and he had to face his future from his stark, mosquito-infested rented room. Alone in a foreign land, struggling with the language, and longing to find his place and purpose in the world, he began to rebuild his life.
What follows is a tender, comical, and illuminating story about what it means to learn to speak and think in a new way, and to spend so much time away from home that the foreign becomes familiar. This heartwarming chronicle filled with Sevillian delicias (soccer, Iberian ham, creative cursing, and one extraordinary woman) reveals how love, language, and culture can transform your life forever.
John Julius Reel moved from Staten Island to Seville in 2005. His memoir ¿Qué pinto yo aquí? (Where do I fit in?) was published in 2014 by Editorial Confluencias in Spain. He is a regular participant in various tertulias on Andalusian public radio, has dabbled in acting (most notably in Nonio Parejo’s feature film 6 toreros yankees 6), and has published over 100 articles in Spanish newspapers. He loves teaching. His Facebook page "Spanglish in a Minute" is steadily approaching 100,000 followers. He also passionately reviews memoirs on his YouTube channel Book Rants. My Half Orange is his first book in English.
