During the Greek economic crisis that started in 2009, someone takes it upon themselves to blackmail rich tax evaders into paying their taxes or face death. Victims are left to be discovered in various archaeological sites, including Kerameikos (pic from Wikipedia). Police chief Kostas Charitos is on the case, but things turn political and popular sentiment is on the vigilante‘s side.
I never quite got into this novel, but it was a quick read.
pickI thought that the methodology of this book was interesting, the author took different dialogues and plays and whatnot and used them as sources for little vignettes of moments in different people‘s day in Athens. But almost immediately there was the awkward feeling of male authors (past and present)writing women as utterly fascinated by men. The wedding procession scene in particular had me rolling my eyes.
so-soI read this in anticipation of an upcoming trip to Greece. It‘s a memoir set in Athens around 2004. The author‘s anthropological eye is used wonderfully here to capture her adopted country. I loved learning more about what sets the Greek people apart. It‘s not a frothy read, and focuses frequently on dark things from their history, but I really enjoyed it and felt like I was getting an honest look at the country beyond the tourist borders.
pickThe mountains look on Marathon –
And Marathon looks on the sea;
And musing there an hour alone,
I dream‘d that Greece might still be free;
For standing on the Persians‘ grave,
I could not deem myself a slave.
‘The Isles of Greece‘ by Lord Byron
pick“The power of fate is a wonder; dark, terrible wonder. Neither wealth nor armies, towered walls nor ships, Black hulls lashed by the salt, can save us from that force.” —Sophocles
pickPericles and an Athenian delegation come to Delos to remove the Delian League's treasure to Athens for safekeeping. When the priest heading the Delian's resistance to the move is found dead, a heavily-pregnant Diotima is appointed to head the investigation as priestess of Artemis.
A worthy wrap-up to the series.
#TemptingTitles Day 21: #WithAMonth - another Big Bad Wolf book haul. 💕
pickThere are often parallels drawn between the executions of Socrates and later, Jesus, but the author argues these are superficial. Drawing on Thucydides, Plato, Xenophon and others, Waterfield tries to draw out the historical Socrates and the context in which he lived to understand the charges against him. “Socrates was put to death because the Athenians wanted to purge themselves of undesirable trends, not just of an undesirable individual.”
pickI've been meaning to get to this, so #anypartofatrilogy #booked2023 was a perfect opportunity. Wonderful writing in which a writer travels to Greece + spends the novel simply listening to other people's life stories. These are tales of the frustration of family life and are woven like a spiders web, so that you are hypnotised by the tales as is the narrator. I definitely plan to read more of this series@Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @alisiakae
