Jennifer Barclay Books

(and more)

An Octopus in my Ouzo

‘Poetic, touching, enlightening’ – Anne Zouroudi

‘vibrant, humorous, honest and fascinating… an unforgettable gem’ – Isabelle Broom

‘Romantic, sun-drenched and mouth-watering… a true feast for the senses’ – Emma Woolf

Escape to the sunlight and colour of a wild island in the South Aegean as I embrace my new life to the full. An Octopus in my Ouzo takes you from surviving storms to serving drinks on the beach, dancing and walking and swimming your way around the island with an exuberant fisherman and an adorable canine companion – a funny and inspiring journey to find that happiness lies in living small and thinking big.
Published in 2016

‘a beautiful and uplifting book… inspirational’ – Richard Clark

‘A seductive evocation of Greek island life and an honest exploration of what it means to try to live differently… about diving into the unknown’ – Lizzie Enfield

‘I devoured this book in two days and now wish I could read it again for the first time… This story will delight, enchant and fill you with joy and sadness… Brilliant’ – Julie Ryan

‘I found myself laughing and then crying. It was truly inspiring.’ – Alli

‘An honest and brave book… Its light touch makes you think you’re going to get the usual travel/memoir fare, but it goes further and deeper and is full of surprises’ – Robert

‘Your books bring a lot of joy’ – Esme

‘Food for the soul… beautifully descriptive’ – Amanda

‘Could not put it down. Totally dreaming of a visit to Greece…’ – Jenny

‘Jennifer Barclay has an incredible talent for describing her experience on Tilos in such a sensory way that you feel you were actually there… wonderfully engaging!’ – Margaret

‘She writes candidly and openly about her desires as a woman, and more importantly, as a human being.’ – Neos Kosmos, Australia

‘There are some wonderful characters in this book, and the author has a real gift for bringing them to life… A gorgeous read’ – Anne Cater

‘Jennifer Barclay has a unique gift in experiencing love and beauty and sharing it with the world. She certainly touched me through the pages. An unforgettable read!’ – Effrosyni Writes

Excerpt:

I’ve tasted snails twice before. Neither occasion would make me excited about the idea. This time, I am assured that the local recipe makes all the difference, and I can learn how to cook them.
Stelios goes out one day and comes back with two ominously bulging plastic bags. First, we must leave the snails with some food for a couple of days, which will clean out anything poisonous they might have been eating. I’m already thinking this may be a bad idea. We put them in two big pans with sacks tied over the top so they can breathe, place them on chairs and leave them with wild sage to eat in the hope it will give them good flavour. The empty building next door comes in useful at times like this. I check on them the next day and find one of the sacks has come loose, and the snails are slowly making their way down the side of the pot and the chair legs, trying to escape. I feel sorry as I drop them all back in the pot… Sorry for them, and perhaps a little bit for me.
After two days, the new food should have gone through their system and they’re ready for cleaning. And just in case I’m being too subtle here, we’re talking about cleaning up snail excrement. I suddenly become very busy with an urgent work deadline and unfortunately have to leave this part to Stelios. But my desk is approximately two metres from the kitchen sink, and however I try to ignore it, there’s an unmistakable clicking of shells as the snails try to escape again up the sides of the sink. Snails can move surprisingly fast when they want to.
Then we get to the really lovely part, I learn. We must boil them, and scoop off the slime .