top of page

Non-Fiction by John Manuel:
Wit, wisdom and worrisome tales...

There are seven non-fiction memoir works in the series. The first four are called the 'Ramblings From Rhodes' books, and the rest are stand-alone accounts. The 'Ramblings...' books chart John's story from when he and Yvonne made the decision to move to Greece in 2004, and eventually did so in 2005, to their having lived for some years on Rhodes. 

The next is 'A Jay in the Jacaranda Tree' and sums up their first ten years on Rhodes. It's packed as full of humour as are the first four, whilst also telling an informative story that may entertain Grecophiles for hours, but will also be a handy reality check for anyone thinking of doing what they did.

'A Slightly Larger Motley Collection of Greek Oddities' is edition two, containing six more chapters than edition one. It focuses on a series of characters that John and Yvonne have met and befriended during their Grecian 'journey' as it were. It oozes affection for these people, all of whom have enriched the lives of the author and his wife immeasurably over the years.

The most recent is 'Moving Islands,' and it's the worrisome, yet nevertheless witty, tale of how they came to move from Rhodes to Crete in 2019.

IMG_20211023_143000.jpeg

Links to the Amazon pages where the books can be purchased can be found on their respective dedicated pages. The brief summary below starts from the oldest and progresses to each newer work as you scroll down...

Feta Compli!

This was John's first foray into

writing and it's basically his

memoirs regarding how a young

typically English lad became

enamoured with his fiancée's

country of heritage. It begins with

the purchase of a slightly suspect

old van from a dealership south

of Bristol, in the UK, then goes

back over thirty years of visits to

Greece, before relating the story

of how he and his wife made the

move out to Greece in 2005.

   Lots of readers have remarked that they've

experienced 'laugh-out-loud' moments during the narrative, which sparkles with wit and intelligence.

 

If you ever think of making the move, you need to read this first!

Click on the cover to go to The "Feta Compli!" page.

Tzatziki For You to Say

Volume three of the "Ramblings

From Rhodes" series, "Tzatziki"

deals much more with life on

the island of Rhodes than

volumes one and two,

"Feta Compli!" and "Moussaka

to My Ears".

   The Manuels have now lived

on Rhodes for a number of years

and have made friends and

acquaintances with locals and

ex-pats living nearby. "Tzatziki

For You to Say" serves up a feast

of amusing anecdotes, most in stand-alone chapters much as was the case with the first two volumes in the series.

Click on the cover to go to The "Tzatziki" page.

A Jay in

the Jacaranda Tree

After having written four novels,

John here returns to writing a

volume of memoirs. This time

it's a no-holds-barred look at
over ten years of life on Rhodes.

A frank, amusing, poignant,

hard-hitting, controversial yet

always absorbing take on over

a decade of life on a Greek island. 

​In "A Jay in the Jacaranda Tree"

John tackles such themes as

the current economic crisis,

the confusing political scene in Greece, refugees, immigrant workers and the cat and dog situation. 

   He pulls no punches and expresses his views after having lived on Rhodes since 2005. His insight will make you laugh, cry, probably frown, yet always it will engage you.

   Be ready for a frank, yet deep down affectionate, look at the Rhodes and the Greece of the past turbulent decade.

Click on the cover to go to the page for "A Jay in the Jacaranda Tree."

Moussaka to My Ears

This book takes up right where

Feta Compli! leaves off.

It continues the stream of anecdotes

from past visits to Greece, while

also carrying the story along of

how John and his wife adapted

to their first few years of life

on Rhodes, including all the ups,

downs and disasters that came

their way.

   To say that the first years on

Rhodes was character-forming

is probably a mammoth

understatement!

Click on the cover to go to The "Moussaka to My ears" page.

A Plethora of Posts

Volume four of the "Ramblings"

series, the material in "A Plethora

of Posts" began life as posts on

the author's blog, which is aptly,

if rather predictably, entitled,

"Ramblings from Rhodes"!

   Its 44 chapters loosely trace

the rhythm of a year of life

on Rhodes (well, two and a bit

really), after John and his wife

had already lived there for four

years and counting. 
   Virtually all of the tales in

"A Plethora of Posts" relate to living on Rhodes, with very little reference being made to past visits to his wife's relatives or other parts of Greece.

Click on the cover to go to The "Plethora" page.

Greek Oddities 

This is an affectionate look back

at a series of individuals that

John has met over the five decades of his Greek experience. It's funny, touching, and above all entertaining. Written in his

inimitable conversational style,

it does cover some people who

popped up in the other non-fiction books, but also quite a lot of material is new as well. Each chapter is centred around one or more individual(s) encountered by the author over the years from the late 1970s to the present day.

 

Edition 2 has six extra chapters not found in edition 1.

Click on either of the above covers to go to The "Greek Oddities" page.

GreekOddsFCover.jpg
GrOddities2Cover.jpg

Moving Islands

If you've ever wondered what might

be involved in upping sticks and

moving house to a different

Greek island, always assuming that,

like the author, you'd made the

life-changing decision to move

countries many years earlier, then

read this book and you'll either vow

never to do it yourself, or to keep

this work close-by as a guide for

getting through the whole complicated and sometimes hugely frustrating experience.

Click on the cover to go to The 'Moving Islands' page.

MovIslandsFCover.jpg
bottom of page