“One family, two countries”

  • Book: The Making Of Mrs Petrakis
  • Location: Cyprus, London
  • Author: Mary Karras

Review Author: Yvonne@FictionBooks

Location

Content

OMG! Where would I be without my faithful pack of tissues. At times I laughed until I cried, at others I cried until I laughed, but always tears were involved, as my emotions were pulled first one way and then the other.

From my own personal perspective, it seems to me that there were in fact two families and two countries at the beating heart of this sprawling, generational saga. That the Petrakis family had the loudest voice, is without question. However, notwithstanding that Elena does eventually marry into the Petrakis family; she, her sister Valentina and their mother Lenou, played such a pivotal role in shaping much of the early Cyprus based narrative and dialogue, that without them things just wouldn’t have been the same.

The story encompasses two countries and timelines. I visited a Cyprus, which in the 1960s/70s, is fast heading towards a Civil War between Greece and Turkey, in which there can be no winners. Fast forward to the 1980s/90s, where, as a result of the cultural dissonance, there has been an exodus of many of the Cypriot population, to the much calmer environs of London, where they are fast establishing a new, small and close-knit community of their own, in the Harringay, Greens Lane area in the Borough of Haringey. At first, despite the short and well signposted chapters, I did find the timeline switches back and forth, a little disjointed and I confess to ending up by drawing my own little chart, so that I could track events more easily. However, it didn’t take too long to get into the swing of things and sort out the characters and then I witnessed the two timelines converging beautifully, to present a well structured, fluent and seamless storyline, where events of the past have such a huge influence over the present.

Skilled in the imagery of words, there was a lovely perceptive visual depth and range to Mary’s writing. The assured, observational and descriptive narrative, together with some excellent conversational dialogue, offered a real sense of time and place, as befitted her own parents Cypriot heritage and hence, much of the inspiration for the story. As my own husband was in the military at the time of the Cypriot troubles, many of the sights and sounds resonated deeply with me and took me on a really personal trip down memory lane.

Life in Cyprus was harsh and difficult for both families, so England was definitely the land of opportunity and new beginnings for them, as war became an inevitable outcome for this divided country. Without giving away too many spoilers, in what, at the time, was a predominantly male led, arranged marriage society, Maria and Costa endured Mickali’s brutal form of physical and mental domestic abuse, for many years, with stoicism and in silence. Even the tragic loss of a beloved daughter doesn’t unlock Michali’s heart of stone, but only serves to strengthen his resolve to make a grief stricken Maria pay for all the ills in his personal world of misfortune. When a way out is offered, Maria has to make the ultimate choice and pay a terrible personal cost, with a secret she can never reveal and which she takes to her grave.

When Lenou’s husband and soulmate is taken from her and her girls, she becomes very bitter and twisted, venting her anger, sorrow and distress on her daughters in both terrible physical and mental abuse, which will haunt them for the rest of their lives. For Valentina, being exiled to London in disgrace, finding history repeating itself and being forced to make a life-changing decision she will ultimately find it impossible to live with, has far-reaching and devastating consequences for her sister Elena, who is herself now living in London and married to Maria’s son, Costa. With an already fragile mind, Elena believes herself to be personally responsible for all the ills and misfortunes of both her own and Costa’s family. This, together with her own battle with undiagnosed PND, following the births of her two daughters, neither of which she is truly able to bond with, eventually finds Elena succumbing to a spell in an institution.

Much of the recent background story focusses on Maria’s skills as a traditional Cypriot baker, which is how she makes a living when she arrives in London, with her son Costa. Fortunate enough to establish her own high street business, the pages of the book are replete with the names and descriptions of some divine sounding dishes and pastries, which I have to say, did rather side-track me and kept Google busy for many hours. It wasn’t until I had finished reading my Kindle edition of the book, that I discovered the glossary at the end, where any Cypriot words and phrases used in the story, were defined and explained. Possibly there might have been scope for this to have been mentioned at the beginning of the book, so that readers could mark the relevant glossary pages. Although for me personally, I found it just as easy to switch between Kindle and computer, where my search page was open and at the ready, as were paper and pen to jot down some of the more mouth-watering recipes.

Fast forward to London 2007 and this beautiful story has once again evolved and is now focussed on the bonds of family, about learning to survive, and ultimately learning and growing from shared experiences. For Maria, the London bakery has always been her saviour in times of stress and trouble, as she can lose herself totally in her artistic ability to produce such stunning delicacies. Perhaps she almost left it too late in realising its healing potential, although for the short time he was with her before his PTSD, following his stint in a Cypriot army at war, claimed his life, her assistant, Maki would always be grateful for Maria’s large and gentle heart. Whether Elena would have benefitted from the restorative powers of Petrakis Bakery at an earlier time is a debatable point, however, as Maria’s parting gift to the next generation of the Petrakis family, Elena and Costa look set to call the business their own, to treat it with the reverence and love it deserves and just maybe, in return, it will be the saving of some badly damaged hearts and minds. Which means that after so many years of toil and struggle, safe in the knowledge that she has raised a son to be proud of, to carry on the family name, the ‘Mighty Maria Petrakis’ can finally find peace and solace, although without ever having truly experienced for herself the enduring love and devotion between two people, which she so richly deserved.

The making Of Mrs Petrakis was a wonderfully rendered, mature work of cultural and societal fiction, compassionately written from the heart, unique and unconventional, often disturbing, brutally and heartbreakingly honest, yet desperately compelling, powerful and completely immersive. Multi-layered, slowly unfolding and evolving, the story is evocative, intensely textured, rich in atmosphere and detail, and totally and utterly emotionally draining.

All the women in this book have their own tragic story to tell and it is clear that their strengths and weaknesses have been shaped by their past, often traumatic, experiences. Mary gave them their own space and afforded them a strong voice with which to tell their story. They were all pieces of a complex jigsaw of human emotions, raw and passionate, vulnerable and often searching for a sense of belonging. However they were always genuine and believable, addictive, worth investing in and identifying with.

Equally worth investing in, was the stalwart figure of Costa. A true reflection of Maria’s loving influence, who gains surprising magnitude, not in his looks or deeds, but by the sheer power of his love and devotion to his family, which sets him apart from many of his fellow Cypriot male counterparts. His refusal to abandon Elena when she is most in need of his support and the stability he is hoping to provide for her as she readjusts to life back out in society, bonding with her daughters and setting their family life back on course, is to be commended.

An excellent debut novel from an accomplished and polished author. I hope there are plenty more storylines in Mary’s portfolio, just waiting to be developed.

What makes reading such a wonderful experience for me, is that with each and every book, I am taken on a unique and individual journey, by authors who fire my imagination and stimulate my senses. I recommend that you read this story for yourself and see where your journey leads you!

Back to book

Sign up to receive our e-newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.