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This book is nearly 400 pages long and I finished it in just under 2 weeks. I’m not a fast reader at all, so this should already give you a fairly good idea of how enthralled I was by its story.
The plot follows Marina, originally from Rouen, and her, let’s say, less-than-ideal upbringing. After experiencing numerous hardships growing up, including the death of her father, and nearly giving up on life and love, she meets Yiannis Reizis, captain of the „Chimera“. They pretty much instantly fall for each other and Marina follows him to his home on the Greek island of Syros.
Marina had a lifelong obsession with Greece, particularly Ancient Greece, and frequently recites classic plays in the original Ancient Greek. But reader beware, this is a modern Greek tragedy and Marina’s life will take a turn for the worst and then for the much, much worse.
Tragedies are interesting because I feel that they have really fallen out of favour. Decades of Hollywood dominance have conditioned us to always yearn for a happy ending. But isn’t it in suffering that we truly confront life? I personally have always had an affinity for tragic stories and this one certainly did not pull its punches. Just when you think the pain of these characters couldn’t possibly get any greater, Karagatsis almost gleefully proves you wrong.
Karagatsis‘ writing style is lyrical to say the least. There are entire sections in this book that read like long prose poems and this will certainly not be up everyone’s street–but, perhaps unsurprisingly, it very much resonated with me. The author also heavily makes use of Greece’s rich mythological pantheon and if that’s something you’re into, you’re going to have a field day with this story.
While reading, I couldn’t help but think of some other all-time favourite books of mine: Madame Bovary by Flaubert, Antigone by Anouilh, and particularly also Un homme à distance by Katherine Pancol. Love at its most violent, love driven to the outer limits of what a human heart was made to bear: this is the source from which great artistic brilliance can spring, and Karagatsis will quench your thirst beyond satisfaction.
just thoughts 