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Getting to Manana
In 1996, former Country Living garden editor Miranda Innes decided to change her life completely.
Tired of urban living, bored of her career, out of love with her long-standing partner, she and her son spied a romantic ruin in Andalusia amid its own olive groves, and made an offer. What happened next - selling her London house, and handing in her notice at the magazine - was going to be straightforward, or so she thought. She had not counted on the sudden emergence of a New Man in her life, the plans of Arsenal football ground to purchase her back garden, a badly slipped disc and the logistics involved in moving a lifetime's possessions. Nor had she realised what a struggle re-building the house, room by room, or planting a garden in the hostile terrain of southern Spain would be. But helped by her new husband, Dan, and an assortment of eccentric locals, not least by the worldly wisdom of Juan the builder, she made it, and over the ensuing four years, the house and pool were built and the garden began to take shape.
This is the story of how Miranda got to mañana, of her love affair with Spain, and a countryside where 'great jagged peaks range above little fields, white villages tumble like sugar cubes down the sides of hills, and white houses grow room by room in a puzzle of rectangles, topped by corrugated cinnamon-brown terracotta tiles moulded on a man's thigh'.
Illustrated throughout with line-drawings by Dan Pearce, Getting to Mañana is a book to read and treasure.
Tired of urban living, bored of her career, out of love with her long-standing partner, she and her son spied a romantic ruin in Andalusia amid its own olive groves, and made an offer. What happened next - selling her London house, and handing in her notice at the magazine - was going to be straightforward, or so she thought. She had not counted on the sudden emergence of a New Man in her life, the plans of Arsenal football ground to purchase her back garden, a badly slipped disc and the logistics involved in moving a lifetime's possessions. Nor had she realised what a struggle re-building the house, room by room, or planting a garden in the hostile terrain of southern Spain would be. But helped by her new husband, Dan, and an assortment of eccentric locals, not least by the worldly wisdom of Juan the builder, she made it, and over the ensuing four years, the house and pool were built and the garden began to take shape.
This is the story of how Miranda got to mañana, of her love affair with Spain, and a countryside where 'great jagged peaks range above little fields, white villages tumble like sugar cubes down the sides of hills, and white houses grow room by room in a puzzle of rectangles, topped by corrugated cinnamon-brown terracotta tiles moulded on a man's thigh'.
Illustrated throughout with line-drawings by Dan Pearce, Getting to Mañana is a book to read and treasure.
- GenresNonfictionTravel
361 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 24, 2011
Under the Tuscan Sun set in Andalucia, Spain -- and much funnier. Loved this writer - she could be a bit over the top at times but I also found myself laughing out loud quite often. You'll never feel the same way about home improvement projects again!!
May 18, 2020
Quite a funny and enjoyable read with the dual novelties of a new home and new partner both in a strange ‘foreign’ environment. The writing is highly descriptive and the situations funny and emotionally charged at times. I found the book lively and entertaining the shock of Spanish builders both unsurprising and inevitable. Moving from one country to another in Europe I
However familiar is going to be fraught with problems and these were enjoyable to see and overcome.
However familiar is going to be fraught with problems and these were enjoyable to see and overcome.
August 26, 2015
Beautifully written with great descriptive passages about her environment and lifestyle. Miranda was an easily excited and unpredictable woman who moves from England to Spain to start a new life with a new love in a derelict house. Often very tongue in cheek, laughing at herself and the often terrible situations they were in.
January 19, 2016
Despite being divided into sections by year, this book suffered from a very confused timeline. The author jumped all over the place forward and back years in the narrative without explanation.
The author also spent the entire book whining about things that were or had gone terribly wrong. An annoying and depressing book instead of the light travel book I was hoping for.
The author also spent the entire book whining about things that were or had gone terribly wrong. An annoying and depressing book instead of the light travel book I was hoping for.
September 7, 2007
such a great reminder of my summer in malaga!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews