Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Ten of the best books set in Greece

Andrew Bostock first traveled to Greece over 25 years ago, and has lived in the country. He is the author of the Bradt Guide to the Peloponnese region.

At the Guardian, Bostock tagged ten "books will take you [to Greece] and lead you on to other things," including:
The Names by Don DeLillo

Talking of dark undercurrents, this little-known book by a famous author gets beneath the skin of Greece magnificently. It is partly set in the Mani, a rocky and often barren part of the southern mainland where my family lived for several years. It is a starkly beautiful area, dotted with tower house fortifications and small Byzantine chapels, but there is always something lurking in the landscape. Imagine a breeze through olive trees for a moment, and then see what DeLillo does with it: “Wind blew across the olive groves, causing a wild tremor, a kind of panic, treetops going silver.” Anyone who has visited this part of the world outside of the somnambulant summer will instantly know this.
Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue