The type of memoir that I would like to read more of.
Manni Coe decides to make Spain home.
While repairing an old house which he and his family (partner and young brother) make home, he repairs his self.
Touching, inspiring, and very humane.
Lovely read.

Manni Coe has spent a lot of his life on the move however he has a deep love for Spain. He and his partner take a risk on buying an old (150 years old) farm in a remote valley in a fairly remote part of Andalusia. There's a river, olive trees, a range of wildlife, quite a lot of land and a road that is impassable at times. Other than their dogs, there's Jack (Manni's partner), Manni and his youngest brother Rueben. There is a lot to do and not simply physically although the farm has been divided into 2 (with no real finesse) and they want to reunite it. Rueben needs care and Manni has ghosts from the past that still trouble him. This book is the story of the farm, the land around, the people who visit and those who are important. However it is also the story of trying to repair "little ruins" within Manni.

He starts by saying that "I assumed my wounds had healed" however it is obvious early on that this may not be the case.
At times it feels as though you are reading vignettes from their lives. This meant for me that this seemed to "ramble" sometimes. However, having read it, I'm not sure that is a bad thing. In practices our lives do tend to ramble and be rather less than linear. One idea leads to another and then another. Manni - to me - seems to have allowed this to happen and rightly so. This non linear narrative takes in a number of themes and ideas in amongst the main one of rebuilding.

From the start there are parts of this that are beautifully poetic. Other parts can be truly thought provoking. Some resonated far more with me than some others. However I did feel it was a privilege to read this and have such insight into parts of Manni's life. There really was a richness to this book however I do find it hard to pin it down in some ways.
It's a beautiful book and becomes deeply rooted in land, nature, people and life generally. I think it is worth pointing out that there are issues that come out in this book that some may find triggering; in particular sexual abuse and suicide.

All in all this is a special book and those who get it may well feel enriched by it. 4.5/5

Manni Coe falls in love with Spain in his early Twenties, and when he meets his partner, Jack, they start to build a new life in Andalusia in a dilapidated house they call The Corner. Their daily tussles with the wild, unforgiving nature of Andalusian weather and nature, begins to crack something open inside Manni, memories long hidden and painful but which he knows he needs to deal with. In the midst of all this, Manni is trying to care for his brother Reuben, who with Downs' Syndrome, needs a particular kind of nurturing that Manni and Jack, juggling jobs and renovation and the demands of everyday life are not always able to fill, no matter how much they want to. When disaster strikes, Manni is forced to renegotiate all his relationships, not least the one with himself. This is beautiful, honest and sometimes painful reading, but it is so vivid and alive and you root for this wonderful family every step of the way.