James Chatto
The Greek for Love: A Memoir of Corfu (2005) has as its subtitle for the American edition, A Memoir of Sorrow and Joy. This engaging memoir is not just another expatriate-buying-property story. Life is truly lived on the island of Corfu by James and his wife, Wendy, in the small village of Loutses. They do renovate a house there, and learn about the local cuisine and customs, but they also suffer heartache. And they know, ultimately, that they have been accepted as part of the community.
More by James Chatto
A Matter of Taste: Inspired Seasonal Menus with Wines and Spirits to Match. 2004. [Co-authored with Lucy Waverman.]
The Chef’s Table: The Best of Toronto Taste. 2000. [Co-authored with Lucy Waverman and Tony Aspler]
The Man Who Ate Toronto: Memoirs of a Restaurant Lover. 1998.
A Kitchen in Corfu. 1988.
About James Chatto
Ryerson Review of Journalism
Interviews
The Cookbook Store
Random House
Awards for The Greek for Love
The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Nonfiction, nominee, 2006.
Drummer General’s Award, 2005. [from A Different Drummer Books, Burlington, ON]
Reviews of The Greek for Love
Quill & Quire
Place
When readers encounter a new place in a story, they often want to return to that place, or somewhere like it, in order to share even further in the experience, or to see how others have managed in such a locale.
Binchy, Maeve. Nights of Rain and Stars. 2004. [Fiction]
De Blasi, Marlena. A Thousand Days in Venice. 2002.
Durrell, Gerald. The Corfu Trilogy. 2006.
Storace, Patricia. Dinner with Persephone: Travels in Greece. 1996.
Tennant, Emma. A House in Corfu: A Family’s Sojourn in Greece. 2002.
Relationships
In Chatto’s memoir, relationships are very important: between his wife and him, between the parents and the children, and between the family and the new community they are living with, the new friends they have made, as well as the old friends who join them in Corfu.
Bull, Debby. Blue Jelly: Love Lost and the Lessons of Canning. 1997.
Brashares, Ann. Traveling Pants series. 2001-2007. [Fiction, YA and A]
Hamilton, Jane. Map of the World. 1994. [Fiction]
Macdonald, Sarah. Holy Cow: an Indian Adventure. 2004.
Trigiani, Adriana. The Big Stone Gap Trilogy. 2000-2002. [Fiction]
Food
On a Greek island, one would expect the food to be notable. In this book, the Chattos enjoy eating not only the foods others make, but also the food they can grow themselves. And with James Chatto being the foodie he is, the reader can well imagine how tasty their food would be, and may want to try to replicate it!
Harris, Andy. A Taste of the Aegean: Greek Cooking and Culture. 1992.
Kochilas, Diane. The Glorious Foods of Greece: Traditional Recipes from the Islands, Cities, and Villages. 2001.
Kremezi, Aglaia. The Foods of the Greek Islands: Cooking and Culture at the Crossroads of the Mediterranean, Including Some Recipes from New York’s Acclaimed Molyvos Restaurant, Owners, the Livanos Family, Executive Chef, Jim Botsacos. 2000.
Staikos, Andreas. Les Liaisons Culinaires. 2000. [in English, despite the title!]
Stone, Tom. The Summer of My Greek Taverna: A Memoir. 2002.
House/Home
Of course the house the Chattos buy is not in pristine condition. But they enjoy fixing it up and making it their own, so that the house really does become a home. Other expatriates often have the same experience. At times, those who leave their original home, becoming expatriates in other countries, will return to their country of origin, in search of what was once home.
East, George. Home & Dry in Normandy. 2005.
Gage, Eleni. North of Ithaka: A Journey Home through a Family’s Extraordinary Past. 2004.
Manzo, Caroline Seller. Casa Nostra: A Home in Sicily. 2007.
Mole, John. It’s All Greek to Me: A Tale of a Mad Dog and an Englishman, Ruins, Retsina – and Real Greeks. 2004.
Stewart, Chris. Driving over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucía. 1999.
(Created with the help of the Oshawa Workshop participants. All Web sites accessed June, 2007.
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