Member Review

Ah....retirement. The proverbial golden pot at the end of the long, decidedly none rainbow like thing that's work. Some take a more creative approach to retirement than others. Meet Anthony Stancomb and his wife. who decided to quit busy England and retire to a quiet Croatian island of Vis, a place abundant with naturally beauty, historically significant past and...not much otherwise. Small minded, rigid in traditions and quite backward, like so many geographically isolated locations around the world, Vis' siren song nevertheless proved irresistible to the author and this is a (for some reason derivatively titled) chronicle of him and his wife trying to fit in, mingle, be productive, enterprising and contributing members of the tiny society. Stancomb's very British jocularity comes in handy and makes for a very amusing read as he describes the numerous culture clashes, climbs the language barrier and fights the windmills of local bureaucracy. Seems like a terribly frustrating experience and yet...every so often he'll talk about Vis' beauty, the beguiling Adriatic outside his windows, a certain sunset or sunrise and you can really see the appeal. After all, everyone is looking for that one place where, to modernize the old adage, they can rest their weary iPhone thumbs, that one place that makes them happy and it's nice to read about someone who found theirs, however untraditional. While I adore all things British, the author's expansive variety of very English references (particularly famous persons) was somewhat distracting, but I'm sure a Brit would get all those. Charming and considerably cheaper than actually visiting Croatia in general or Vis in particular. Thanks Netgalley.