A House In Corfu

Greece cast its sudden spell on Emma Tennant's parents in the mid-1960s. As a result they decided to live their dream, bought land on the west coast of Corfu, and built a house there. This charming book is the record of a brave venture which was rewarded in all sorts of unexpected ways. Achieving the idyll they visualised was not without its difficulties: apart from the idiosyncrasies of Greek builders, with their unique methods and flexible attitude to time, there was no electricity, no telephone, no proper road and extremely scarce water (an eccentric English diviner was called in at one stage), while difficulty of access and frequent bad weather often meant a frightening degree of isolation. But with quiet persistence and a certain insouciance of spirit the house, designed to blend with landscape and seascape, was built. Although it is called Rovinia, meaning ruin, it is still there, and still very much a home. The 1960s were a crucial time in Greece politically, economically and culturally, but Tennant's evocative writing shows the reader what it means to inhabit an ancient landscape and to become acquainted with a culture unchanged for hundreds of years. The author and her family attended christenings, engagements, weddings and funerals, all of which are lovingly and vividly described, as are the scents, sounds and sights of 'one of the most beautiful places on earth'. Tennant has a keen eye for specific personalities and for the quicksilver eccentricities of the rural Greek character. She is, however, careful to point out that Greece is a large place and one of infinite variety, rightly describing Corfu as being 'the extreme edge of the Latin world', with a history very different from that of, say, the Peloponnese. If you cannot live the Mediterranean dream, do the next best thing: read this delightful book. (Kirkus UK)