Twin siblings Kallypso and Gabriel grow up in the lush cradle of Mythaki, an idyllic Greek island wrought of Mediterranean sun and sea. Their innocence is shattered by the outbreak of a war which flings Gabriel to distant battlefields and shackles Kallypso to a deteriorating homefront as Italian soldiers apologetically invade their island.Ravaged by the twisted specter of Hitler’s ambition, … ambition, Greece’s seas run red with the blood of her children. Germany’s occupation plunges Mythaki into a dystopia of chaos and brutality. Despite the darkness, human nature retaliates with unexpected kindnesses and forbidden love. Kallypso and Gabriel discover that people must sometimes make their own miracles.
War entwines the fates of a Nazi ridiculed for his conscience, an iconographer haunted by her artistry, an officer driven by his madness, and a rebel soldier fighting to return home. There are people who bring darkness. There are people who spread light.
This is their story.
. . .
*Chosen as one of The National Herald’s Top Picks in 2017.*
“Lively and lovely in the telling.” -Alan Cheuse, NPR’s Voice of Books
“A mesmerizing tale, weaving ancient and 20th century pasts with the present. In the hellish night of war, the artist heroine and her Greek island community show how long-treasured traditions create a refuge from war’s inhumanity, provide non-lethal weapons in the fight for survival, and offer hope to those suffering unimaginable loss. Deeply detailed scenes of life’s dailyness—dark coffee at the kafenio, steaming spanakopita fresh from ovens, sticky summer figs, sonorous chants sung before icon-rich altars—recreate miracles at every turn.” -Margaret Yocom, Ph.D., American Folklore Society
“Extraordinarily compelling … a poignant, warm, amusing, and brutal portrait of history.” -A. F. Stewart, author of Once Upon a Dark and Eerie
“Told in heart-wrenching detail … beautiful and captivating.” -Jeff Lindsey
“Written with the grace of a master storyteller…” -Todd Barselow, author of Oh Diyos in the Oberon
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This is an exquisitely written book with beautiful imagery, a vivid sense of place and culture, and rich characters. It’s one of those stories that sneaks up on you, and before you realize it, you’re holding your breath.
The first quarter of the omniscient narrative introduces twins Kallypso and Gavril from age ten through twenty, before WWII comes to their island home in Greece. At first, I wondered about the purpose of this tour through their innocent and mischievous childhoods, but I realized by the time the war stealthily encroaches on their lives that I was fully invested in these characters and their community. The tension was palpable, the sense of doom throttling.
War comes, and like any war, it savages the characters caught up in the struggle as well as those on the periphery. Gabe, a fisherman, joins the freedom fighters and heads to the mainland. Kalli, an artist who paints religious scenes on the church walls, is left in the village with the women, children, and old men. First the Italians occupy the island. Then the Nazis.
The lives of both characters are decimated. Dreams are lost. Innocence is replaced with horror, starvation, and death. The omniscient pov allows some storytelling distance or the brutality would be almost too hard to take. The tragedies are heart-breaking partly because they’re so senseless.
But there’s also kindness and love, courage and conscience, loyalty and resilience. It doesn’t show up for a while, but there’s hope too.
Did I mention that this is an exquisitely written book? The quality of the prose and storytelling swept me away. It’s one of the best novels I’ve read this year. Highly recommended for fans of war stories, love stories, and literary fiction that grips you by the throat and doesn’t let go.
In this lovely work of historical fiction, we’re taken to the Greek island of Mythaki, where twins Gabriel and Kalli have lived an idyllic, safe childhood herding goats, stealing figs from a neighbor’s orchard by moonlight, and exploring an ancient cemetery that holds old secrets. Life is slow and peaceful there, marked by days where men drink coffee in the cafes and go out to fish in the Mediterranean Sea. The gorgeous descriptions and richly drawn characters were what made this novel shine, from Hectoras and Haris, to Penny, to Kalli tending her goats in the graveyard. I could taste and smell and see the village that Kalli and Gabriel so loved as if I were standing in it. Of course, The Art of War is about the war coming to the island, so this peace is inevitably shattered. First it is just the Italians. Though of course they are occupiers, too, I found the descriptions of the relationship the Greeks and Italians had (the women overcooking the chicken, the soldiers complimenting it anyway in the hopes their meals improved) to be humorous. It was war, but they were not cruel. But after the Italians come the Germans, and everything changes for Mythaki. I loved the way author Angela Panayotopulos weaves themes of war and art into the novel, as well as characters who live in that gray area between black and white. I especially found Michael’s character and backstory to be fascinating. Highly recommended for historical fiction lovers!
The Art of War by Angela Panayotopulos is truly a work of “art!” The author paints a picture of an idyllic backdrop on the Island of Mythaki. The book opens with Kalli and her twin brother, Gabriel. They are about ten and wandering around being children and she takes us with them through their youth, until they are about eighteen-years-old. It is highly descriptive and visual. I normally do not like authors that write-heavy descriptions, but in Part II, these descriptions became appreciated. Mythaki had already been imprinted in my mind. I felt I was on the island with these amazing Greeks! Much like her protagonist, Kalli, Angela is an artist, and when I got to Part II, I was completely mesmerized and committed to the characters and the people of the village.
I do not want to give away anything to spoil the book. So, it will be very general. I personally loved that the author humanized the unwelcome occupants of the Island due to the war. They were not just invaders, they were men just wanting to go home. But the story does get darker and within that darkness is a light in an unexpected character. The enemy is not always your enemy. Hope and perseverance shine through at the most crucial and difficult times for Kalli and Gabriel. The bonds of family are strong and beautiful. Kalli is defiant that her brother has survived the second world war. There is such beauty in her faith and stubborn determination to survive.
I truly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates historical fiction. You will not be disappointed! Thank you, Angela Panayotopulus for this work of art!
THE ART OF WAR: A NOVEL is the second solely authored book from Angela Panayotopulos and, being historical fiction, is a genre switch from her debut dystopian YA fantasy THE WAKE UP.
THE ART OF WAR: A NOVEL centers on twin siblings Kallypso “Kalli” and Gabriel “Gabe” Papathanasopoulou and the Greek island paradise of Mythaki they call home. Through flashbacks as far back as 1930, we learn of their idyllic upbringing among the closely knit Mythakians who all seem to know each other. But when WWII begins, Gabe feels he must enlist, like all young able-bodied Greek men, for the defense of Athens, but soon finds, like others, that all he wants is to see home again. Meanwhile, the island is garrisoned by a platoon of fairly kind and well-wishing Italians, and the Mythakians soon develop a live-and-let-live relationship with them. But with the overthrow of Benito Mussolini, the Italians are done with war, the island is garrisoned by a platoon of brutal and bloodthirsty Germans, and the collective nightmare for the Mythakians begins.
The book is written in multiple third-person limited points of view, mainly Kalli’s and Gabe’s POVs. Short chapters make for convenient starting and stopping points. Recommended for fans of innocence-lost-to-war stories, such as the Louis de Bernieres novel, and later Nicolas Cage / Penelope Cruz movie, CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN.