Holiday Reading
Most people enjoy reading a good book or three while away from work and the humdrum routine, so here are a few suggestions if
you fancy immersing yourself in stories about Greece and her wonderful islands:
The Cretan Runner – George Psychoundakis
First published in 1955 this is the story of the Cretan Resistance written by a twenty-one-year old shepherd, George
Psychoundakis, from the village of Asi Gonia. “It was in May 1941 that, all of a sudden, high in the sky, we heard the drone of many
aeroplanes growing steadily closer.” British troops were forced first to retreat and then to evacuate, before Crete fell to the
Germans. The Cretan Resistance was born and George began his career as a wartime runner. You will read about his treacherous
journeys on foot from the eastern White Mountains to the western slopes of Mount Ida transmitting messages and goods. He
developed long lasting friendships with British officers, such as Patrick Leigh Fermor, and helped to carry out their missions. A
rollercoaster of emotions and truly unforgettable. George died in 2006 but there is a museum to his memory in Asi Gonia. It was
established by his son Nikos Psychoundakis and grandsons George and Stelios Psychoundakis, in a building built by the late
George Psychoundakis himself. https://www.facebook.com/CretanRunnerMuseum
Eleni – Nicholas Gage (not to be confused with Nicholas Cage, who stars in the film Captain Corelli’s Mandolin).
This is a true story about Eleni Gatzoyiannis written by her son. In 1948, as civil war ravaged Greece, children were abducted and
sent to communist "camps" inside the Iron Curtain. Eleni was forty-one at the time and living in a small village, Lia, in
northwestern Greece. She defied the communist guerrillas, who had occupied her village and was arranging the escape of her
three daughters and her son, Nicholas. Because of this she was imprisoned, tortured, and shot in cold blood. She was one of the
158,000 victims of the Greek Civil War. Nicholas Gage was nine years old and joined his father in the U.S. He became a top New
York Times investigative reporter, with one thought in mind: to return to Greece and uncover the one story he cared about most -
the story of his mother.
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis de Bernieres
This is a 1994 novel, set on the Greek island of Kefalonia during the Italian and German occupation of the island in World War II. It
has been intimated that the character of Corelli is based on Amos Pampaloni, who was then an Italian artillery captain in Kefalonia.
In spite of the many similarities in their stories, Bernieres has always denied this and considers it a work of fiction. It is 1941 and
Captain Antonio Corelli, a young Italian officer, is posted to the island as part of the occupying forces. At first he is ostracised by
the locals but over time he proves himself to be civilised and humorous - and he plays a mean mandolin. It is the story of a love
triangle between Pelagia, the daughter of the local doctor, Mandras, a fisherman turned guerrilla and Corelli. An important event
in the novel is the massacre of Italian troops by the Germans in September 1943. The Italian Acqui Division had refused to
surrender and had fought the Germans for nine days before running out of ammunition. 1,500 Italian soldiers died in the fighting,
5,000 were massacred after surrendering and the rest were shipped off to Germany; 3,000 drowned when the ship carrying them
hit a mine.
The Island – Victoria Hislop
This is a novel centring on Spinalonga, a former leper colony off Plaka in Eastern Crete, which receives thousands of visitors every
year. It is the story of a daughter’s quest to learn about her mother’s life.
A list of novels set in Crete:
• The Colossus of Maroussi - Henry Miller (1941)
• The Sea Eagle - James Aldridge (1944)
• The Egyptian - Mika Waltari (1945)
• Zorba the Greek - Nikos Kazantzakis (1946)
• The Colossus of Maroussi - W. Stanley Moss (1950)
• A War of Shadows - W. Stanley Moss (1952)
• Captain Michalis - Nikos Kazantzakis (1955)
• Dark Labyrinth - Lawrence Durrell (1958)
• The King Must Die - Mary Renault (1958)
• The Moon-Spinners - Mary Stewart (1962)
• Cast In Doubt - Lynne Tillman (1992)
• Der kretische Gast - Klaus Modick (2003)
• You Are Here - Steve Horsfall (2004)
• The Innocent and the Guilty - Maro Douka (2004)
• The Memory of Tides - Angelo Loukakis (2006)
• Wish You Were Here - Mike Gayle (2007)
• The Tomb of Zeus - Barbara Cleverly (2007)
• Blood of Honour - James Holland (2010)
• The Sword (Volume 1) - Luna Brothers (2010)
• Digging at the Crossroads of Time - Christos Morris (2012)
• "The Theseus Code" - Marc Hammond (1981)
• "Korakas" - Anne Holloway (2015)
• "The Threshing Circle" - Neil Grimmett (2014)
• “Kritsotopoula: Girl of Krista” - Yvonne Payne (2015)
• Lies that bind us - Andrew Hart
Most people enjoy reading a good book or three while away from
work and the humdrum routine, so here are a few suggestions if
you fancy immersing yourself in stories about Greece and her
wonderful islands:
The Cretan Runner – George Psychoundakis
First published in 1955 this is the story of the Cretan Resistance
written by a twenty-one-year old shepherd, George Psychoundakis,
from the village of Asi Gonia. “It was in May 1941 that, all of a
sudden, high in the sky, we heard the drone of many aeroplanes
growing steadily closer.” British troops were forced first to retreat
and then to evacuate, before Crete fell to the Germans. The
Cretan Resistance was born and George began his career as a
wartime runner. You will read about his treacherous journeys on
foot from the eastern White Mountains to the western slopes of
Mount Ida transmitting messages and goods. He developed long
lasting friendships with British officers, such as Patrick Leigh
Fermor, and helped to carry out their missions. A rollercoaster of
emotions and truly unforgettable. George died in 2006 but there is
a museum to his memory in Asi Gonia. It was established by his
son Nikos Psychoundakis and grandsons George and Stelios
Psychoundakis, in a building built by the late George
Psychoundakis himself.
https://www.facebook.com/CretanRunnerMuseum
Eleni – Nicholas Gage (not to be confused with Nicholas Cage,
who stars in the film Captain Corelli’s Mandolin).
This is a true story about Eleni Gatzoyiannis written by her son. In
1948, as civil war ravaged Greece, children were abducted and sent
to communist "camps" inside the Iron Curtain. Eleni was forty-one
at the time and living in a small village, Lia, in northwestern
Greece. She defied the communist guerrillas, who had occupied
her village and was arranging the escape of her three daughters
and her son, Nicholas. Because of this she was imprisoned,
tortured, and shot in cold blood. She was one of the 158,000
victims of the Greek Civil War. Nicholas Gage was nine years old
and joined his father in the U.S. He became a top New York Times
investigative reporter, with one thought in mind: to return to
Greece and uncover the one story he cared about most - the story
of his mother.
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis de Bernieres
This is a 1994 novel, set on the Greek island of Kefalonia during the
Italian and German occupation of the island in World War II. It has
been intimated that the character of Corelli is based on Amos
Pampaloni, who was then an Italian artillery captain in Kefalonia. In
spite of the many similarities in their stories, Bernieres has always
denied this and considers it a work of fiction. It is 1941 and
Captain Antonio Corelli, a young Italian officer, is posted to the
island as part of the occupying forces. At first he is ostracised by
the locals but over time he proves himself to be civilised and
humorous - and he plays a mean mandolin. It is the story of a love
triangle between Pelagia, the daughter of the local doctor,
Mandras, a fisherman turned guerrilla and Corelli. An important
event in the novel is the massacre of Italian troops by the
Germans in September 1943. The Italian Acqui Division had
refused to surrender and had fought the Germans for nine days
before running out of ammunition. 1,500 Italian soldiers died in
the fighting, 5,000 were massacred after surrendering and the rest
were shipped off to Germany; 3,000 drowned when the ship
carrying them hit a mine.
The Island – Victoria Hislop
This is a novel centring on Spinalonga, a former leper colony off
Plaka in Eastern Crete, which receives thousands of visitors every
year. It is the story of a daughter’s quest to learn about her
mother’s life
A list of novels set in Crete:
• The Colossus of Maroussi - Henry Miller (1941)
• The Sea Eagle - James Aldridge (1944)
• The Egyptian - Mika Waltari (1945)
• Zorba the Greek - Nikos Kazantzakis (1946)
• The Colossus of Maroussi - W. Stanley Moss (1950)
• A War of Shadows - W. Stanley Moss (1952)
• Captain Michalis - Nikos Kazantzakis (1955)
• Dark Labyrinth - Lawrence Durrell (1958)
• The King Must Die - Mary Renault (1958)
• The Moon-Spinners - Mary Stewart (1962)
• Cast In Doubt - Lynne Tillman (1992)
• Der kretische Gast - Klaus Modick (2003)
• You Are Here - Steve Horsfall (2004)
• The Innocent and the Guilty - Maro Douka (2004)
• The Memory of Tides - Angelo Loukakis (2006)
• Wish You Were Here - Mike Gayle (2007)
• The Tomb of Zeus - Barbara Cleverly (2007)
• Blood of Honour - James Holland (2010)
• The Sword (Volume 1) - Luna Brothers (2010)
• Digging at the Crossroads of Time - Christos Morris (2012)
• "The Theseus Code" - Marc Hammond (1981)
• "Korakas" - Anne Holloway (2015)
• "The Threshing Circle" - Neil Grimmett (2014)
• “Kritsotopoula: Girl of Krista” - Yvonne Payne (2015)
• Lies that bind us - Andrew Hart
Holiday Reads
