If any other writer took a spineless, clueless character and turned him into the protagonist of an otherwise delightful plot with an original, cultural backdrop, he or she wouldn’t be able to pull it as well as Sara Alexi did.

The story is about two childhood friends in a Greek village, the gullible Mitsos and wheeling and dealing Manolis who takes advantage of Mitsos all through their lives. There is also Manolis’ wife Marina who Mitsos refused to marry when she was handpicked by his parents. Yet, when Manolis married her, Mitsos fell in love with Marina.

Manolis is gruff and abusive toward his wife, Marina, whom Mitsos vows to protect and watch out for. Add to all this other perfectly developed characters in the Greek village and the story is a success.

Still, I hated to read about a main character like Mitsos. It is difficult for me to empathize with idiocy in a protagonist even if it supports all the warmth and saintliness of humanity. From the beginning of the story, I kept on reading and hoping that Mitsos will gain brains and judgment somehow, but it wasn’t to be.

Still this novel is a winner because the writing is perfect, with the author handling present and past time switches skillfully and making all characters, even the quirky ones, as flawed as they are, come alive.

enjoying the atmosphere of a different cultural setting and for its characters.

the setting

the lack of judgment in the protagonist

is Sara Alexi who is a a psychotherapist. This book is a volume from her Greek Village series.

It is very well written and most of the characters in it are somewhat quirky.

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Created Mar 10, 2014 at 8:00pm • Submit your own review...