Thanassis Valtinos is a celebrated Greek prose writer whose works often delve into the depths of human memory and history. With an extraordinary feel for detail and language, he explores the complex relationship between the past and the present, frequently focusing on the lives of ordinary people within specific historical periods. His writing is characterized by raw honesty and an ability to evoke powerful emotions, offering readers a unique insight into Greek society.
In a Greek provincial town, the central square serves as a vibrant backdrop for various scenes that reveal the historical context and evoke emotional responses. The narrative intertwines reality and imagination, exploring the intense obsessions of teenage protagonists. The new moon symbolizes themes of eroticism and fresh starts, weaving through the unfolding events. The author's craftsmanship is skillfully conveyed by experienced translators, enhancing the depth of the story.
From a master of modernist literature, Thanassis Valtinos, this volume collects two groundbreaking novellas that altered the trajectory of Greek fiction, together with two autobiographical short stories. Valtinos, in these early works, charts the divergent fates of his native Peloponnesian villagers through odysseys of departure and historical upheaval.Set in the early twentieth century, The Book of Andreas Kordopatis, Part 1: America records the repeated attempts of the narrator to emigrate to the U.S. Wrought from a firsthand account, it offers a revelatory view of the struggles of the undocumented in that era. The Descent of the Nine is a Greek Civil War drama that details the agonizing attrition of nine surviving Communist rebels left to fend for themselves in government-controlled territory. In “Addiction to Nicotine” the onset of adolescence interfuses with the last stages of the leftist grip on the countryside. “Aistratigos” closes the collection with a keenly sketched portrait of a World War II veteran, whose privation — in war and affection — has led to an almost mystical reclusiveness.
Andreas Kordopatis, ein Vorreiter der modernen Arbeitsmigrantengeneration, plant um 1900 die Emigration nach Amerika. Trotz Schwierigkeiten wird ihm die Einreise verweigert, und er entscheidet sich, illegal an Land zu gehen.
