Margarita's Olive Press | 
 enlarge | Author: Rodney Shields
Publisher: Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.99
You Save: £7.00 (88%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 165158
Media: Paperback
Pages: 188
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0715634402
EAN: 9780715634400
ASIN: 0715634402
Publication Date: July 7, 2005
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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| Customer Reviews:
 Mildly interesting but not well written May 26, 2007
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
As someone who has been visiting Zakynthos for a number of years, I was expecting much more from this book. To be honest I was more than a little disappointed. Yes there are a small no of memorable characters, but there is really no real sense of Zakynthos, no place names to provide context or invoke memories of places you've been to. It is only too obvious that the author is not a writer. There is really no continuity throughout the book and the jumping around in the timeline is somewhat confusing in trying to relate to the progress of the project.
The Olive press could really be anywhere....
 A family's 20 year project to create a place in the sun January 15, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
If you have ever dreamt of living in a house surrounded by olive trees on a slope running down to the Ionian Sea, or simply would enjoy the vicarious pleasure of a beautifully crafted literary excursion to Zakynthos, - read `Margarita's Olive Press'.
Margarita, the owner of the olive press, sells off parts of the property as Shields' negotiating skills are tested almost to the limit. The story tells how each practical hurdle is overcome - no road access? no water or electricity? or after winter storms, no roof? - no problem. Each obstacle is tackled with a stoicism and ingenuity which puts most `Grand Design' projects in the shade. Materials have to be carried by mule down from the nearest track, or by impressed members of Shields' family.
Once the essential requirements for survival are put together, an easy style of living is established in harmony with the land and the sea. There are delightful accounts of a growing network of Greek builders, friends and acquaintances. Through good fortune, an early contact in a taverna with Dionysus, the former registrar for the northern part of the island, develops into an enduring friendship. The need for a lawyer leads to Lambis, who becomes Shields' guide not only through the labyrinthine mysteries of Greek property transactions, but also to the rich history of the land.
The story is one of indomitable optimism and an irreversible love affair with Greek life in a remote corner of this beautiful island.
A great holiday read October 9, 2005
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
Margarita's Olive Press proved to be the ideal holiday companion whilst visiting the Ionian islands. The author suffers all the trials & tribulations of dealing with a property acquisition from a typical Greek family. He conveys extremely well the mentality of Margarita & her desire to ensure that the Englishman will not pay too little for her family heritage.The working relationship of all the people involved in the project is conveyed beautifully albeit tempered with the frustrations of language barriers & a desire on the Greeks part to compound rather than to solve problems. There is joy as each part comes together tinged with sadness along the way. There is compassion, pride,and tragedy without which no book on Greece would be complete. Altogether a fabulous account of triumph over the odds .
One man's 20 year DIY project on a Greek island. July 30, 2005
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
What a delightful story. The charm of Greece and its people comes through on every page and the conversion of a ruin into a beautiful holiday home reads like an adventure story. The property that Rodney Shields acquired on the beautiful island of Zakynthos was idyllic. Except that it had no access road, no electricity and no running water or sewage. It seems that overcoming these considerable obstacles was childs play compared to the difficulties of buying a property from multiple owners and the nightmare complexity of Greek bureaucracy.This book will appeal to anyone who has ever visited Greece and will persuade those who have not that they should do so. It is an abolute must for anyone contemplating a property purchase on an Ionian island. They could save themselves much time and trouble by benefitting from the fascinating story of Rodney Shields' 20 year DIY project.
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