Happy Thursday, My Lovelies! Today I am part of a TLC Book Tour for Yvette Manessis Corporon's Daughter of Ruins. I'd lake to thank TLC Book Tours for allowing me to be a part of this tour.
According to Goodreads:
A sweeping story that follows a Greek woman through the mid-twentieth century as she reconciles her family's troubled past and forges a path all her own.
Demitra, a young artist, comes of age in post-World War II Greece, struggling with her widowed father's emotional unavailability as she dreams her dead mother watches over her, like the goddesses she reads about in her mythology books.
While visiting family on Corfu, Demitra defies her father's commands to return home and marry the man he chose for her. She instead stays on Corfu, where she falls in love with painting and a forbidden man. But after suffering a devastating betrayal, Demitra has no choice but to return home to Cephalonia and ask forgiveness from her father. Before they can make amends, the island is struck by a massive earthquake that kills thousands and reduces entire villages to rubble. Amid the ruins, Demitra finds the courage to confront her father and start a new life in America centered around her art.
Set among the lush Ionian islands of Corfu and Cephalonia, Demitra's story is steeped in the myths and traditions of Greece. Over the course of decades, Demitra fights to find her voice and independence at a time when women are only as valuable as their dowries, ultimately learning the devastating secret of her family's history and the unforgivable act of revenge and betrayal that cemented her fate and future.
My Review:
I enjoyed this book quite a lot, and one of the main reasons is because of the setting. I haven't read many books set in Greece, and it was interesting reading a historical fiction book set there during the Italian and then Nazi occupations during World War II. Demitra is the main character, and she is a child during the war. Born in America, she and her father left the United States after her mother's death: Demitra was only three years old at the time. Her father is very cold and neglectful toward her, and her only other family member is an aunt who is a nun at the The Church of the Dormition in Markopoluo Monestary. This church becomes snake infested every year in August during the Feast of Dormition. After the feast, the snakes disappear. I was fascinated reading about this, and it is a real thing!
Demitra enjoys reading and learning about goddesses and other strong female characters from Greek mythology. She's convinced that they are looking over her in her mother's stead, and eventually they are her muses and subject matter for her colored pencil art. Although her father doesn't approve of her art, she continues to create and refuses to marry a local baker. Fortunately for Demitra her father has remarried by this time, and she also has a little brother. Her stepmother Stella intervenes and sends her to her aunt and cousins' village to help them run their restaurant and care for Stella's little cousin. Demitra's father reluctantly agrees with the plan because he thinks she will learn skills to make her a better wife. While there, she begins an affair with an older, successful businessman. Clearly Demitra doesn't want to be forced to wed as is the cultural norm. She wants to control her destiny, and she has hopes and dreams of becoming an artist. Soon after returning home to her village, a devastating earthquake hits Greece killing thousands. With nothing left in her village, what will become of Demitra?
I enjoyed reading about Demitra's metamorphosis as an artist, and, as an artist, I appreciated the descriptive passages about her drawings. The literary allusions to Greek mythology enriches the story, and it is one of my favorite things about the novel. If you like historical fiction set during World War II and the middle of the twentieth century; if family drama and mysteries intrigue you; and if you enjoy allusions to Greek mythology, then you should enjoy Daughter of Ruins.
Demitra's story will stay with me for a very, very long time.
Blog Tour Stops:
Thursday, October 10th: The Bookish Dilettante
Monday, October 14th: Eliot’s Eats
Friday, October 18th: Novels Alive
Thursday, October 24th: Vegan Book Blogger
Monday, October 28th: Sarah Can’t Stop Reading
Wednesday, October 30th: Book Bird Dog
Friday, November 1st: Girl Who Reads
Tuesday, November 5th: The Calico Books
Disclosure:
I received a paperback copy of Daughter of Ruins from the publisher via TLC Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Happy reading!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Any book description that mentions the word "sweeping" has me hooked from the get go!! Pretty cover, too!
ReplyDeleteOh my, thank you, I am going to read this one. :-)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good read. Happy new week. Hugs. Kris @ junkchiccottage. xoxo
ReplyDeleteSounds a great book. Myo oldest daughter's best friend is Greek, her father born there. Her parents go each year for long stays. My sister loves WWII novels, I will share this with her!
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