In May, 2016 I travelled on the Attica coast in Greece. When I’m in another country I search out book stores and the English section. When I was on the island of Aegina, wandering a back street I discovered a book shop which had a small selection of English titles. I purchased The Last Dance and Other Stories by Victoria Hislop because The Daily Mail endorsed the book stating, “Beguiling…Her characters are utterly convincing and she has perfected her knack for describing Greek life.”
Here begins a week in the life of a book.
And it begins
It is a pleasure to read about places we are walking past, or guessing at signs, and interpreting life in Greek families as they go about their days.
The first story is The Priest and the Parrot.
Help comes in the strangest ways to nudge us to love.
The priest during his day
2. The Kafenion (coffee shop and bar)
Mama knows best.
My chairs, your chairs
3. Aflame in Athens
Blinded by love.
Protests go on around us but at times we don’t understand the issues.
4. The Zacharoplasteion (The bakery)
A visitor to a country can not truly understand what they take away with them and what they leave behind.
Perfection at work and in life.
5. The Periptero (The Kiosk)
Working eighteen hours a day pays off in many way.
“Gradually over the next half century he had extended his empire in both directions.”
6. One Cretan Evening
“His hand sweated a little as he grasped the key.”
The truth is told in a little book.
7. The Butcher of Karapoli
“Her aging pappous gave her no choice about where she should buy their food and precisely where she should get it.
Perhaps a new generation can erase the shadows of the past.
7. The Lesson
“If you both followed the rules, I wouldn’t have to remind you of them.”
He couldn’t treat her.
8. The Pine Tree
“Until she caught a glimpse of her son. And then it was as though the sun had emerged from a rain cloud.”
Claire hoped there was room in Andreas’s life for two women.
10. The Last Dance
“…there is a window full of fairy tales: a photographer’s studio.”
The photographs from this day will be displayed for years.
I enjoyed reading these short stories while I was in Greece. Besides providing a flavor for the country they also provided a bit of background information in the fiction. We told many other travelers in our group about this book, but I couldn’t part with my copy. If you are going to travel to Greece or would like to experience another culture which is different yet similar the world over, download or order: The Last Dance and other stories by Victoria Hislop
What a great post! Looks like a great vacation, and book, too.
Hi Leeann,
Thank you. It was both of those. The wondrous experience is that no matter how far I travel there are similarities in peoples’ lives and reactions to it.
But then again, I am a visitor and I many not see the nitty gritty of true life.