The House by the River
Published on 1. November 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
544 pages
978-1-5420-4589-6 (ISBN)
Description
From acclaimed Greek writer Lena Manta comes an emotionally powerful saga following five young women as they realize that no matter where life leads them, the only constant is home.
Theodora knows she can't keep her five beautiful daughters at home forever-they're too curious, too free spirited, too like their late father. And so, before each girl leaves the small house on the riverside at the foot of Mount Olympus, Theodora makes sure they know they are always welcome to return.
Having survived World War II, the Nazi occupation of Greece, and her husband's death, Theodora now endures the twenty-year-long silence of her daughters' absence. Her children have their own lives-they've married, traveled the world, and courted romance, fame, and even tragedy. But as they become modern, independent women in pursuit of their dreams, Theodora knows they need her-and each other-more than ever. Have they grown so far apart that they've forgotten their childhood home, or will their broken hearts finally lead them back again?
Theodora knows she can't keep her five beautiful daughters at home forever-they're too curious, too free spirited, too like their late father. And so, before each girl leaves the small house on the riverside at the foot of Mount Olympus, Theodora makes sure they know they are always welcome to return.
Having survived World War II, the Nazi occupation of Greece, and her husband's death, Theodora now endures the twenty-year-long silence of her daughters' absence. Her children have their own lives-they've married, traveled the world, and courted romance, fame, and even tragedy. But as they become modern, independent women in pursuit of their dreams, Theodora knows they need her-and each other-more than ever. Have they grown so far apart that they've forgotten their childhood home, or will their broken hearts finally lead them back again?
Reviews / Votes
"In the first of bestselling Greek writer Manta's works to be translated into English, she demonstrates her keen perception into the human heart...Gripping, intricate story lines and [a] touching finale." -Booklist"In this poignant chronicle, Lena Manta examines the lives of five individual girls who leave their home. While their departures are typical, the possibility of their return forms the intriguing premise of this novel...The strong prose and descriptions of Greece and other locales are engrossing." -Historical Novel Society
"A gripping and deeply touching novel, The House by the River was the page-turner of my reading month, more sentimental than I typically go in for, but intricate and well wrought. Can we ever really go home? Manta has some ideas." -Words Without Borders
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Seattle
United States
Publishing group
Amazon Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
522 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5420-4589-6 (9781542045896)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Lena Manta was born in Istanbul, Turkey, to Greek parents. She moved to Greece at a very young age and now lives with her husband and two children on the outskirts of Athens. Although she studied to be a nursery school teacher, Lena instead directed her own puppet theater before writing articles for local newspapers and working as a director for a local radio station. Manta was proclaimed Author of the Year in both 2009 and 2011 by Greek Life & Style magazine. She has written thirteen books, all of them published by Psichogios Publications, including the bestselling The House by the River, which has sold almost 250,000 copies and is the first of her books to be translated into English. Hers is a voice to be reckoned with, and each new book is a tour de force in the Greek publishing world.
Gail Holst-Warhaft is a poet and translator and has worked as a journalist, broadcaster, prose writer, academic, and musician. Among her many publications are Road to Rembetika, Theodorakis: Myth and Politics in Modern Greek Music, The Collected Poems of Nikos Kavadias, Dangerous Voices: Women's Laments and Greek Literature, The Cue for Passion: Grief and Its Political Uses, I Had Three Lives: Selected Poems of Mikis Theodorakis, and Penelope's Confession. She has published translations of Aeschylus and several of Greece's leading novelists and poets. Her poems and translations have appeared in journals in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Her Kavadias translations won the Van der Bovenkamp award from Columbia University's Translation Center, and her poem "Three Landscapes" won the Poetry Greece Award in 2001. The Fall of Athens, her most recent collection of poetry, essays, and stories about Greece, is forthcoming from Fomite Press.
Gail Holst-Warhaft is a poet and translator and has worked as a journalist, broadcaster, prose writer, academic, and musician. Among her many publications are Road to Rembetika, Theodorakis: Myth and Politics in Modern Greek Music, The Collected Poems of Nikos Kavadias, Dangerous Voices: Women's Laments and Greek Literature, The Cue for Passion: Grief and Its Political Uses, I Had Three Lives: Selected Poems of Mikis Theodorakis, and Penelope's Confession. She has published translations of Aeschylus and several of Greece's leading novelists and poets. Her poems and translations have appeared in journals in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Her Kavadias translations won the Van der Bovenkamp award from Columbia University's Translation Center, and her poem "Three Landscapes" won the Poetry Greece Award in 2001. The Fall of Athens, her most recent collection of poetry, essays, and stories about Greece, is forthcoming from Fomite Press.