Non-Fiction by John Manuel:
Wit, wisdom and worrisome tales...
There are eight non-fiction works. 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, 'A Jay in the Jacaranda Tree' 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.
'The most recent is 'Everything you ever wanted to know about Greece but were too afraid to ask,' and it's a very tongue-in-cheek look at everything there is to know about Greece, her history, her mythology, her customs and her bougatsa. Read it and impress your friends with all your in-depth knowledge abnout Greek trivia and stuff.
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."
Everything...
Impress your friends with your knowledge of all things Greek in general. Next time you’re participating in a pub quiz, expect to win the Greek round hands down. The only problem is, there’s rarely a round specifically about Greece. Ah well, you can’t win ‘em all. And anyway, there’s always a first time.
If you’re planning to visit Greece and want to familiarise yourself with some of the basics, this book is a good place to start. It will entertain, annoy, but also educate you enough to enhance your visit, and that’s enough to make it highly recommended reading. Oh, and it might help the author pay a bill or two.
Click on the cover to go to the book's page.
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,
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.
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.