Sunlight in the Wine

After a serious illness the author exchanged London street for centuries-old footpaths on a Greek island. He and his companion began converting a cottage in a green valley with the help of various island people, including three ancient builders, a carpenter who also cut hair and played the violin, and a peasant farmer who ran a haulage business with three mules on the side. The sheer perversity of these characters, and their stubborn will to live, do more for the author than all the pills in the world, and he is soon learning which weeds are edible, how to make his wine, and what runaway sheep get up to early in the morning. Most importantly, he gets his health back, and it is his celebration of what it means to feel truly alive again, whether the valley is drowning in butterflies, or ringing with snow, that makes his book such a joy to read.