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Top Book Blogger Anne Cater shares her favourite novels set in GREECE

17th May 2013

Anne Cater is a regular contributor to the TripFiction site and in this post she shares her love of Greece. With all this grotty weather, maybe it is time to dive into some great reads that bring warm and foreign lands to life. As J. K. Rowling says: “There’s always room for a story that can transport people to another place.” So, join Anne as she peruses some of the novels that bring Greece and its islands to life..

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Anne on Spinalonga

My love affair with Greece and all things Greek began 14 years ago when I visited the island of Rhodes. Since then, we’ve visited many other Greek islands including Kefalonia, Lefkada, Crete and Pefkos. However, it is Corfu that we return to every year for two weeks at the end of May. We discovered the resort of Arillas on the north west coast some years ago and it now feels like home. We then visit a different part of Greece for a week at the end of September.

I especially enjoy reading about places that I know and love, and if the blurb of a book mentions Greece then I’m usually eager to read it.

Probably the most well-known books set in Greece are those written by Gerald Durrell about his family and their time on the island of Corfu. All three of the books are now available as the Corfu Trilogy, and although non-fiction, they are very enjoyable reads.

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The entrance to Spinalonga Wall

Most people will say that Captain Corelli’s Mandolin is the best Greece themed novel, and oh how I wanted to like it. Sadly I’ve never been able to get more than three chapters into the book, but have spent many hours visiting the locations in the story on Kefalonia.

Two of my very favourite Greece themed books are The Island and The Thread, both by Victoria Hislop. I especially loved The Island which is set on Crete and the small island of Spinalonga just off the coast. Spinalonga was a leper colony for many years and Hislop’s story is wonderful. I was lucky enough to visit Spinalonga a few years ago and would recommend it, it’s an eerie place.

0755309510.01.ZTZZZZZZThe Island by Victoria Hislop, CRETE/SPINALONGA

On the brink of a life-changing decision, Alexis Fielding longs to find out about her mother’s past. But Sofia has never spoken of it. All she admits to is growing up in a small Cretan village before moving to London. When Alexis decides to visit Crete, however, Sofia giver her daughter a letter to take to an old friend, and promises that through her she will learn more. Arriving in Plaka, Alexis is astonished to see that it lies a stone’s throw from the tiny, deserted island of Spinalonga – Greece’s former Leper Colony. Then she finds Fotini, and at last hears the story that Sofia has buried all her life: the tale of her great-grandmother Eleni and her daughters, and a family rent by tragedy, war and passion. She discovers how intimately she is connected with the island, and how secrecy holds them all in a powerful grip….(from the back cover)

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The Thread by Victoria Hislop THESSALONIKI

As Dimitri Komninos is born, a devastating fire sweeps through the thriving Greek city where Christians, Jews and Muslims live side by side. Five years later, Katerina Sarafogou’s home in Asia Minor is destroyed by the Turkish army. Losing her mother in the chaos, she flees across the sea to an unknown destination in Greece. Soon her life will become entwined with Dimitri’s, and with the story of the city, as war, fear and persecution begin to divide its people.

Thessaloniki, 2007. A young Anglo-Greek hears of his grandparents’ life story for the first time and realises he has a decision to make. For many decades, they have looked after the memories and treasures of the people who were forced to leave. Should he become their next custodian and make this city his home?

Thanks to Anne for sharing her top reads for Greece. You can follow Anne via Twitter and her fabulous book blog here

And over on Pinterest we are bringing together some top novels, reviewed on our blog, set in Greece. Click the link here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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