This story takes place on the Greek island of Corfu and follows two children from post-war through modern days. Marco is a poor boy whose mother grew up with Prince Phillip (the late Duke of Edinburgh) and while they have little, they hope that connection will benefit them as Greece is torn apart by civil war. Katerina is Marco’s childhood friend and we see a different view of the war from her slightly more affluent family. Both are forced out of their beautiful island home and end up in starkly different circumstances. Will they ever find their way home and back to one another?
If you’re looking for great historical fiction that does not center on WWII (it does deal with the impact of it though), this book will really wow you. I liked the view of what regular Greek citizens had to deal with after the war and fighting the communist uprising but what was really great was the balance of the royal family’s impact as well. Katarina and Marco had such complex childhoods that went from idyllic to tragic. They grew up with love and hope and lost it somewhere; spending the rest of their lives trying to figure out if they were capable of it once again.
I knew very little about Greek history before this and feel like I learned a ton. I love the juxtaposition of the Greek and Italian views; the blending of Christianity with mythology and the different social issues that were tackled along the way. There were a few times where I thought the book could have ended right where it was but then went on and I was thankful for it.
I did this one on audiobook and the narrator had a lucious accent which added to the ambiance of the story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Thanks to Harper Muse via Netgalley for access to this audiobook. All opinions above are my own.
Have you been to Greece? Would you like to go?
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