A House in Corfu: A Family's Sojourn in Greece [Paperback]

Emma Tennant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2003

This book is the story of Emma Tennant's parent's house, Rovinia, set above the bay in Corfu where legend has it Ulysses was shipwrecked and found by Nausicaa, daughter of King Alcinous. It is also the story of people like 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 color and contrast, A House in Corfu shows the huge changes in island life since the time of the Tennants' arrival, and celebrates, equally, the joy of belonging to a timeless world: the world of vine, olive, and sea.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tennant, a London-based author (Sylvia and Ted), offers a delightful memoir of the years she spent visiting her parents' home on the Greek island of Corfu. During a vacation, Tennant's parents, then in late middle-age, became captivated by a remote area on the West Coast of the island. They bought a parcel of land above the bay where Odysseus is said to have been shipwrecked and built Rovinia, a house inaccessible by road; during the winters, rough waters made it impossible to reach the nearest harbor by boat. But isolation was precisely what her mother and father craved. Originally Rovinia was conceived as a vacation home, but in 1965, Tennant's parents gave up their London home and moved to Corfu permanently. Tennant details the problems with the actual construction of the house and the difficulties in securing an adequate water supply. As a frequent visitor, Tennant had her own room, and she came to know the island intimately. She eloquently renders the stark beauty of the landscape, the seductive, treacherous sea, the delicious cuisine (the family employed a local cook) and her family's friendships with local residents whose customs the newcomers came to understand and respect. Steeped in myth, Corfu remained virtually untouched for generations. On later visits, Tennant observed the changes wrought by the Greek military coup and increased tourism. Tennant's father died on Corfu in 1983, but Rovinia is still a beloved refuge for family members. This account of an alternative lifestyle undertaken before modern pop culture had reached all corners of the earth will appeal to travelers, expatriates and their admirers. Photos not seen by PW.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

How the popular novelist's parents built a house in Rovinia, above the bay in Corfu where Ulysses was reputedly shipwrecked.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805072829
• ISBN-13: 978-0805072822
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,513,657 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Travel > Europe > Greece > Corfu

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A House in Corfu, July 16, 2002

By 

Catherine Lewis (Cheltenham, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A House in Corfu: A Family's Sojourn in Greece (Hardcover)

I was amazed by the negative review another reader gave this lovely book. I would guess that most of us who like to read about a life spent in the sun, do not expect, or want, an action-packed plot! The whole point of living a Meditteranean idyll, where one day slips lazily into another, is that not a lot happens. Or not the kind of things that we would all hate to confront in real life, such as police car chases, broken hearts, or other major dramas. What we want is to be transported to another world and to imagine ourselves there. This book is about being happy - never easy to portray, but Emma Tennant has succeeded. It made me feel a great deal happier than I was before I picked it up. It is also beautifully written.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A House In Corfu, July 30, 2002

By 

Nicola Haydon (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A House in Corfu: A Family's Sojourn in Greece (Hardcover)

A House In Corfu made me long to go at once and savour the tastes, smells and colours so wonderfully described in Emma Tennant's book. Her tales of locals, family and the glorious blue sky and sea had me wanting more as soon as I finished it.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A not-so -great book on a Greek island, October 2, 2002

By 

Alekos (Cancun, Quintana Roo Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A House in Corfu: A Family's Sojourn in Greece (Hardcover)

I enjoy reading books on Greece so I buy a lot of them. This one was a disappointment. I have to agree with the reviewer (above) who says it is a waste of time. It is one of those books that lament the advent of mass tourism and infrastructure development, and I suppose these inevitable changes deserve lamenting in several senses, but other writers have done it so much better. Maybe the first and last chapters could be recommended but the rest is boring. None of the characters come alive and none of the real issues they face are made as clear as they should be. All the people (tourists and locals) seem to do is drive around looking at the mountains and eat... and they all eat too much.