Foreword 

The Bay of Fine Sand is aimed at pre-teens, but adults can enjoy it too.  It is Ann’s last novel and in my opinion the best.  The story is fresh and funny and sympathetic, with a lot of bouncing dialogue.  It weaves together many of the experiences of Ann and her family on their coastal headland in the eastern Peloponnese, and the plot is based on real events, some of which I recall myself.

The background scenarios and their related activities and adventures belong to the rural Greece the 1980s:  old grannies on donkeys, goatherds and their flocks; chickens, gulls, foxes and snakes; olive groves, old wells and water pipes; small shrines and chapels, cart tracks, brushfires; fishing, boating and skindiving for octopus; traditional dishes and tavernas; small-town talk, gossip, rumour, and whispers of the evil eye.  A lot of the action centres on the Bay of Fine Sand, which played a small part in Greek history. The real Bay of Fine Sand is just down the road from Ann’s house.

Ann had two American agents who thought it was worth publishing, but both of them were unable to place it with an American publisher, one because it was “too Greek” and the other because it was “behind the times”.  It is indeed a period piece:  no social media, no TV, no mobile phones, not even running water.  Even in Greece, the backwoods of the Peloponnese was behind the times then. Today’s pre-teens (if they can still read) would probably not identify with it, but I find it very refreshing and can vouch for its truth.   I make no apology for the fact that it is a children’s book:  as Auden says: There is no good book which is ONLY for children.

Synopsis

The book tells the story of a Greek boy, Nick, and his family, who live in a green cliff-top wooden house on a small headland in the Peloponnese in the 1980s, a dozen kilometres from the nearest coastal town.

The household consists of Nick, his mother, his sister Fanny, his grandfather and his dog Markos. The father, a merchant marine officer, is away most of the time at sea. The background scenarios and their related activities and adventures belong to the rural Greece the 1980s.  A lot of the action centres on the Bay of Fine Sand near to Nick’s house.

Nick and his family have their work cut out coping with the demands of their off-grid environment.  The story is fresh and funny and sympathetic, with a lot of lively dialogue. It tells of Nick’s relations with his family; his adventures with his dog Markos and his friend Petros, his fantasy companions and the family friend Poseidon (real name Yannis); his life and tasks at home and at school.  Other intriguing characters are the owner of the pastry shop, two teachers at the school, some classmates (both treacherous and sympathetic) and some possibly malevolent local grannies.  Nick is a strong character who develops his own special skills and passions; and learns to combat his own weaknesses and prejudices, to cope with those of others and to appreciate their strengths.  The chapters are punctuated by short stories told by Nick’s family and friends, some of which open up personal perspectives on the history of Greece.

The running plot begins when some expensive equipment is stolen from a rich neighbour’s boathouse.  Nick is accused of the theft, confronted by the police and taunted by his teachers and schoolmates.  He feels a searing sense of anger and betrayal and, for a while, plunges into a black mood, feeling that everyone is his enemy. But he himself has some clues as to the real culprit, and he slowly discovers more with the help of his sister Fanny and his grandfather, who tries to track down the guilty man by carefully engineered conversations in the town tavernas.  Eventually Nick and his friends lay a trap for the thief, and capture and expose him in a climactic scene.  Then Nick’s father comes home from the sea and the whole family rejoice together.