Theodor Kallifatides is a Swedish author of Greek origin. His work often explores themes of identity, migration, and the clash of cultures, employing a poetic and introspective style. Kallifatides focuses on the human experience and the search for belonging in unfamiliar surroundings. His writing is valued for its depth and its ability to evoke profound emotions.
An aging writer reflects on his deep bond with his elderly mother through a poignant exploration of their family's history in Greece and their experiences in exile. This autofiction weaves together themes of love, memory, and the complexities of familial relationships, creating a heartfelt tribute that captures the essence of their shared past.
"Bombs fall over a Greek village during World War II, and a teacher takes her students to a cave for shelter. There she tells them about another war when the Greeks besieged Troy. Day after day, she recounts how the Greeks suffer from thirst, heat, and homesickness, and how the opponents meet army against army, man against man. Helmets are cleaved, heads fly, blood flows. And everything had begun when Prince Paris of Troy fell in love with king of Sparta Menelaus's wife, the beautiful Helen, and escaped with her to his homeland. Now Helen stands atop the city walls to witness the horrors set in motion by her flight. When her current and former loves face each other in battle, she knows that, whatever happens, she will be losing. Theodor Kallifatides provides remarkable psychological insight in his version of The Iliad, downplaying the role of the gods and delving into the mindsets of its mortal heroes."--Provided by publisher
A rewarding philosophical essay on memory, language, love, and the passage of time, from a Greek immigrant who became one of Sweden’s most highly respected writers “Nobody should write after the age of seventy-five,” a friend had said. At seventy-seven, struggling with the weight of writer’s block, Theodor Kallifatides makes the difficult decision to sell the Stockholm studio where he diligently worked for decades and retire. Unable to write, and yet unable to not write, he travels to his native Greece in the hope of rediscovering that lost fluidity of language. In this slim memoir, Kallifatides explores the interplay of meaningful living and meaningful work, and the timeless question of how to reconcile oneself to aging. But he also comments on worrying trends in contemporary Europe—from religious intolerance and prejudice against immigrants to housing crises and gentrification—and his sadness at the battered state of his beloved Greece. Kallifatides offers an eloquent, thought-provoking meditation on the writing life, and an author’s place in a changing world.