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Chargement... Cinnamon Citypar Miranda Innes
![]() Aucun Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre. Bought 21 Nov - charity shop Read out of order because I have BookCrossing plans for this one. Another tale of falling in love with and buying a house in Marrakech (at first I thought I'd read this already but that was another one a few months back!). Innes is an interiors writer and journalist and this shows in the confident and atmospheric descriptions of the house and Marrackech itself; but she also shows the emotions, good and bad, and the process of buying a wreck and trying to turn it into a palace. Delightful line drawings by her partner, Dan, although I'd have liked a plan of the place at some point in the book. Nothing new, but a very good read. aucune critique | ajouter une critique
Cinnamon City is the story of Miranda's purchase of an extremely dilapidated riad in the Medina of Marrakech; of the chaos that ensued; of the (entirely predictable) ensuing debacle with builders and two nefarious managers who absconded with all her money; of Miranda and her partner Dan's journeys through the north of Africa in white vans that break down as soon as they hit Tangiers; of a family Christmas from hell in a house with few modern conveniences; and of her love affair with all things Moroccan, and with Marrakech in particular. Miranda has a unique voice, her narrative is onward-bound and funny - generally at her own expense - and her descriptions of place and of beautiful objects are lyrical and evocative. Although the book is driven by the story of the restoration of the riad, it also contains information as to the history and culture of Marrakech, tips on where to eat, where to shop, and where to stay. This should be The book one takes on an exotic weekend abroad, particularly as thanks to its relative proximity and cheap airfares, Morocco, and Marrakech in particular, is fast becoming one of the most popular holiday destinations among us sun-starved Brits. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
Discussion en coursAucunCouvertures populaires
![]() GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)964.6405092History and Geography Africa Morocco and northwestern coast Morocco and southwest coast; MarakeshÉvaluationMoyenne:![]()
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It's essentially a typical 'couple make completely out-of-the-blue impulse purchase of house in foreign country' travel writing book. The difference is that while most books in this genre seem to be about olive groves in Italy, villas in Spain or vineyards in France, Miranda and Dan had already moved to Spain from England - this book is about their purchase of a shabby old riad in Marrakech.
The book takes us from their first visit to Marrakech with their friend Maggie, through the trials and tribulations of renovating the house, right up to the moment when they realise it finally feels like home, a palace to be proud of, ready to open to the world. Innes is a mistress of exotic magic, conjuring heavenly images of spices and snake charmers, bustling streets and belly dancers. At the same time her British sensibilities allow her to bring to life the exuberant characters who transformed the riad - and their lives - amid the pink stone and crying muezzins of Morocco.
It is amusing and down to earth, yet also descriptive and deeply evocative of a different world, a different culture, a different way of viewing life and its triumphs and tribulations. The one thing I would have liked is a few photos. There are a few of Dan's line drawings scattered through the book, but it would have been nice to see how the house had progressed. That said, given that the riad is lettable accommodation it wasn't too difficult to locate it online for a nosy at it in all its finished glory. Recommended for a bit of scrumptious escapism that might just leave you wanting to follow in their footsteps... (