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Census
Census | Panos Ioannides
1 post | 1 read | 1 to read
Set in the middle of the twentieth century in a mountainous Cypriot village, Census follows the pregnancy of cancer patient Maria. She conceives after a night with the angelically handsome Michael, visiting from Patmos, the island of John s Revelation. The gestation culminates in the nativity of an invisible Christ in a Nicosia clinic. Though incorporeal, scentless and colourless, the life-giving force that is liberated from Maria s womb, brings about premature efflorescence and a diffusion of aromas across the clinic s flower pots. Akin to healing energy, it begins curing the spiritual and psychosomatic ailments of all those it overshadows, urging the island s medical community to dedicate their life to studying and utilising this unknown new energy. Census is both a heretic allegory of the nativity and a cathartic retort to the satanic messages of Roman Polanski's renowned horror film Rosemary s Baby. Boasting repeated editions in Greece and Cyprus, this award-winning novel by Panos Ioannides, replete with magical realism, is riveting in terms of conception and execution: a sacred metaphysical thriller that redeems and purifies the reader. A masterpiece in the art of fiction and the recipient of the Cyprus National Prize for Literature, 1973. "
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review
Simona
Census | Panos Ioannides
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Mehso-so

This book is about contemporary Nativity - birth of the healing energy, and the story/allegory is dense packed with symbolism, magical realism, philosophy, metaphysical questions ... I liked the first part of the story where Maria and Joseph arrived in the village, but I was lost in the second part when strange things started ... too heavy in symbolism, and the writing in the second part is too experimental for my taste.

Simona Reading ahead for #ReadAroundTheWorld #Cyprus 🇨🇾 5y
Emilymdxn Sounds interesting! I often like experimental prose so might give it a go. I don‘t think I‘ve ever read anything from Cyprus at all 5y
Simona @Emilymdxn It was my first book from Cyprus author too, interesting, thoughtful premise, but too heavy execution for me ... I‘m almost sure that you will like it 😘 5y
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BookwormM I still need to get to Lebanon I have 2 books waiting to be read 5y
Simona @BookwormM I read ahead just because of Booker Prize longlist 😘 5y
BookwormM Arrr don‘t even mention that 🤣🤣 5y
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