Eleni by Nicholas Gage (English) Paperback Book

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A son's quest to avenge his mother's murder.In 1948, in a Greek mountain village, Eleni Gatzoyiannis was arrested, tortured and shot. Eleni is the story of his obsessive and harrowing reconstruction of his mother's life and death and his pursuit of his mother's killer.

FORMATPaperback LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

'Not only a son's poignant memorial to his dead mother but an important work of history' - ObserverA son's quest to avenge his mother's murder.In 1948, in a Greek mountain village, Eleni Gatzoyiannis was arrested, tortured and shot. She was one of the 158,000 victims of the Greek Civil War. Her crime had been to help her children escape from the Communist guerrillas who occupied their village. Her son, Nicholas Gage, was then eight years old. Eleni is the story of his obsessive and harrowing reconstruction of his mother's life and death and his pursuit of his mother's killer.

Notes

Nicholas Gage's account of his mother's life and death under the hands of Communist guerillas during the Greek Civil War.

Author Biography

Nicholas Gage was born in Greece and emigrated to the United States ten years later. He was an investigative reporter and foreign correspondent for the New York Times when he wrote Eleni, working as their bureau chief in Athens. It was published in 1983 and went on to win the Royal Society for Literature's Heinemann Award for the best book of the year in 1984. Eleni became a bestseller all over the world and was made into a feature film.

Review

"A devoted and brilliant achievement. One of the rare books in which the power of art recreates the historical truth" New York Review of Books "Exciting and harrowing... An amazing achievement" -- Patrick Leigh Fermor "I cannot think of another book that so compellingly demonstrates the gradual deterioration of human values in the name of lofty goals. Minutely observed and eloquently rendered" New York Times

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'Not only a son's poignant memorial to his dead mother but an important work of history' - Observer

Kirkus US Review

In 1948, when he was nine, Nicholas Gage's mother Eleni Gatzoyiannis was executed by Greek Communist guerrillas, The book is presented, stagily, as the outcome of his search for her killers: What had "her secret feelings" been? "What did she want me to do?" "Was I capable of it?" So we revert to the village of Lia, in mountainous northern Greece, for the story of Eleni's marriage to Greek-American Christos, her wartime trials, and the greater horror of Communist occupation. At her mother's insistence, Eleni had remained in Lia, a decision Christos accepted. "A woman was judged by her sense of duty to her aged parents almost as much as her dedication to her children." It's traditional, too, for the local men to emigrate in search of work. Christos' modest American earnings make them well-to-do in Lia, while his periodic visits yield four girls and, finally, a son. On his last prewar visit Eleni, restive, begs him to take them back with him; but - she recognizes bitterly - he has come to prefer things as they are. Then, with the Germans' arrival, "her lifeline to Christos" snaps. There will be years of hunger, grudgingly assuaged by her miserly miller-father. The Germans will burn most of the village. And, crucially, communism will come - spread by the local teachers, who organize Resistance groups. "Except for the unfortunate incident with the Kollios boy, the villagers welcomed the presence of the guerrillas, not only for the new purpose and importance it gave to their lives, but also for the diversions it added to the dull daily routine." (Here, Gage's tot's-eye-view serves well.) Most of the fighting, however, is against right-wing guerrillas; three unlikely British peace-keepers arrive (the nervous, harried Scots lieutenant has a breakdown); the worldwide war ends, the four-month civil war concludes in communist capitulation, the local guerrillas lie low. For Eleni, there is word from Christos and money for a dowry for Olga, the oldest. Then the guerrillas are back (because of an internal Communist split), more fanatical than ever. But Christos has written Eleni to stay where she is ("After all, who are these andartes? They're fellow Greeks. . . fighting for their rights"). Now, as the Communists move to conscript the two oldest girls, she wonders "if she shouldn't have defied him and the edicts of village propriety which had always ruled her life." To exempt soft Olga, Eleni mutilates her foot. (Kanta, tiny but tougher, goes.) Village gossip turns calculating, vindictive. (Eleni has always been envied.) Finally the guerrillas, facing defeat, start sending the young children to be raised in Communist countries - and Eleni arranges the escape of Nikola and his sisters that will lead to her execution. The aftermath, with Gage tracking down the culprits (and twice not-shooting the foremost), is pulp melodramatics - except for the moment, in a refugee village in Hungary, he faces "what my fate would have been if my mother hadn't saved us. . . ." Eleni's story, as well, is too heavily orchestrated to be fully persuasive. But this cinematic mix of politics, ethnicity, suspense, and schmaltz does, undeniably, have a grab. (Kirkus Reviews)

Review Text

A devoted and brilliant achievement. One of the rare books in which the power of art recreates the historical truth

Review Quote

A devoted and brilliant achievement. One of the rare books in which the power of art recreates the historical truth

Promotional "Headline"

'Not only a son's poignant memorial to his dead mother but an important work of history' - Observer

Details ISBN1860463460 Author Nicholas Gage Pages 640 Series Panther S. ISBN-10 1860463460 ISBN-13 9781860463464 Format Paperback Imprint The Harvill Press Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom DEWEY 949.5074092 Illustrations maps Media Book Language English Publisher Vintage Publishing Year 1997 Replaced by 9780002720199 UK Release Date 1997-04-03 Publication Date 1997-04-03 AU Release Date 1997-04-03 NZ Release Date 1997-04-03 Narrator Susan McInearny Translator C.J. Hogarth Birth 1939 Affiliation Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Bipolar Clinic and Reseach Program, Massachusetts General Hospital Position Associate Professor of Psychiatry Qualifications Ph.D. Alternative 9781407054155 Audience General We've got this

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