Good Life on Te Muna Road, The

An engaging, affectionate reflection on a small rural community, finding love and making wine. The first time Deborah Coddington lived in Martinborough was in the height of the hippie era, when the old mansion Waiura was an epicentre for poets, protesters, novelists, photographers, artists and activists. It was a counter-culture scene of some privilege and distinction. However the music stopped when, crushed by debts, she and her partner were forced to leave town. Nearly forty years on, much more famous and experienced, a good deal wiser and very much in love again, she returned to Martinborough not quite sure of the welcome she would receive. In this wry, amusing and loving memoir she writes of finding a community full of outstanding and entertaining individuals, one which has its tensions but which nevertheless demonstrates the can-do, all-in-this-together spirit of provincial New Zealand. She lays some ghosts, writes movingly about the death of her mother, details the vicissitudes of being a wine grower and shares the joy of being with her animals. Confiding, candid, and generous of heart, it's a paen to small town New Zealand.