North of Ithaka

by EleniGage (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2004

  $3.30

  Eleni Gage, a young journalist living in New York, leaves her Manhattan flat to return to her family's native Greece and rebuild her grandmother's house in the remote but beautiful northern village of Lia. What motivates her and makes her story particularly remarkable is the fact that her grandmother, also called Eleni, was imprisoned in the house during the Greek Civil War before eventually being executed. Part personal quest into her family's history, part exploration of the nature of history itself, this is a moving yet amusing story set in Epiros, one of the least visited regions of Europe. The cast of characters include Eleni's formidable yet miniscule aunts, the thitsas, who fear that she will be eaten by wolves, her Albanian builders and the residents of modern-day Lia who help in the complex process of reconstructing the house where such terrible events took place. As this is the real Greece, populated by real people rather than rustic stereotypes, Eleni's plans do not always work out as intended though ultimately she finds the resolution she desires. NORTH OF ITHAKA will appeal to those who were entranced by CAPTAIN CORELLI'S MANDOLIN and have ever wondered about the real

• Used

  Paperback
  2005

  $3.30

  Eleni Gage, a young journalist living in New York, leaves her Manhattan flat to return to the remote but beautiful Greek village of Lia in northern Greece and rebuild her ruined ancestral home. But this is not just another tale of quaint rustic DIY - the house was the scene of imprisonment and torture, and its ruins are stalked by the ghosts of the Greek Civil War. The story is played out in the stunning mountainous landscape of Epiros, one of the least-visited regions of Europe. As Eleni becomes part of the village, her neighbours and the house come vividly to life while her own disasters, triumphs and self-discoveries are alternately poignant and hilarious. The cast of characters includes Eleni's formidable yet miniscule aunts - the thitsas, who fear that she will be eaten by wolves; her immigrant Albanian builders; and the residents of modern-day Lia, whose feelings about the rebuilding of a house where such terrible events took place are ambivalent at best. Informed by her knowledge of Greece's folklore, literature, language and history, Eleni's story is unfailingly witty and wise. But beneath it all lie the indelible stains of a real-life Greek tragedy.