After the Tempest

‘I was born during a tempest. There was a squall outside—the storm—then a squall inside—me, red-faced and crying. It was a February storm, and I have been told—for I was too busy mewling to pay attention—that it was the worst one of 1887.’

So begins the luminous story of José Paronella. Born in 1887 in Catalonia, Paronella lived the hard life of a peasant. As a boy, he dreamt of becoming king of a castle like the heroes in his grandmother’s fairy tales. In 1913, he immigrated to Australia where he lived an even harder frontier life. But despite weathering many a storm, he went on to raise a family and build a castle of which he was king and his wife queen.

After the Tempest is written in the form of Paronella’s autobiography. It is the story of a full life and a man who tried to leave his mark on the world.