A House In Corfu: 1 - Softcover

Tennant, Emma

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099422530 ISBN 13: 9780099422532

Publisher: Vintage, 2002

Synopsis

A House in Corfu is the story of one of the most beautiful places on earth, still astonishingly unspoilt, on the west coast of Corfu. In the early 1960s, Emma Tennant's parents, on a cruise, spotted a magical bay and decided to build a house there. This book is the story of that house, Rovinia, set in 42 hectares of land above the bay where legend has it Ulysses was shipwrecked and found by Nausicaa, daughter of King Alcinous. It is also the story of the people who have been at Rovinia since the feast in the grove at the time of putting on the roof - Maria, a miraculous cook and the presiding spirit of the house, and her husband Thodoros - and of the inhabitants of the local village, high on the hill above the bay. Full of colour and contrast, A House in Corfu shows the huge changes in island life since the time of the building of the house, and celebrates, equally, the joy of belonging to a timeless world; the world of vine, olive and sea.

About this title

Review:

'...a delightful memoir...' -- Publishers Weekly

'Here she lends her stunning prose to a unique memoir of the home her parents built on Corfu... on a journey through time' -- Cleo Pappas

'Tennant is strong on the ironic interaction between the Mediterranean sense of eternity and the repeated interruptions (plumbing and storms)’ -- Gerald Cadogan – archaeologist and writer

'This account of an alternative lifestyle... will appeal to travelers, expatriates and their admirers.' -- Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher:

Exercise caution when reading this book - it's likely to induce a serious longing to hop on the next flight to Greece. British novelist Tennant's parents succumbed when taking a Greek island cruise in the early 1960's. They impulsively decided to buy some land on Corfu and build a house. Tennant relays the challenges - primitive building methods, brackish water, the islanders' relaxed sense of time - but these turn out to be minor inconveniences compared to the sheer beauty of the place. Eventually the new home, called Rovinia, takes shape, presided over by the Corfiots Maria and Theodoros and providing an escape from England's stresses and bad weather. As the years pass, the island changes: electricity, hotels on the beach, and fewer donkeys and more cars. But the olives still have to be harvested; feasts and milestones are still celebrated in the old way; the sun and the food are still glorious. Tennant expertly captures the intoxicating sights, tastes, and smells.

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0099422530
• ISBN 13: 9780099422532
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240