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Monday, September 9, 2019

Spotlight and Giveaway of The Siege of Troy by Theodor Kallifatides



Celebrating 
The Release Of:

THE SIEGE OF TROY
BY 
THEODOR KALLIFATIDES:

With a USA Giveaway!!
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Information in this post is courtesy of Caitlin Hurst of Other Press.
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Ever since I was in high school,” recalls the prolific Swedish-Greek author Theodor Kallifatides,“The Illiad has touched my imagination and aroused my admiration.  In my eyes it is the strongest antiwar poem ever written.”

Hoping that this famously long and difficult text could move more readers with its timeless message and captivating story, Kallifatides was inspired to write a novel: THE SIEGE OF TROY (Other Press Paperback Original; On Sale: September 10, 2019), a perceptive retelling of The Illiad in which a young Greek teacher draws on the enduring power of myth to help her students cope with the terrors of Nazi occupation. 

From the feminist brilliance of Madeleine Miller’s Circe to the big wins of Hadestown at this year’s Tony awards, reimaginings of Greek mythology continue to speak to our contemporary moment with power and relevance.

In unfolding the antiwar message of The Iliad against a backdrop of WWII Greece, Kallifatides’ THE SIEGE OF TROY joins this inventive and timely tradition of offering ancient stories anew, giving the classic fresh life while illuminating lesser known facets and investigating the psychology of its human characters. 
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ABOUT THE SIEGE OF TROY: 
The year is 1945. Bombs fall over a Nazi-occupied Greek village, and a teacher takes her students to a nearby cave for shelter. There, she begins to tell them the story of another war, recounting, day by day, the long siege of Troy by the Greeks. She tells of the human realities of this ancient battle, of how the heroes of myth suffer from thirst, heat, homesickness, and heartbreak, and how the opponents meet—army against army, man against man. Helmets are cleaved, heads fly, blood flows. All was set in motion when Prince Paris of Troy fell in love with king of Sparta Menelaus's wife, the beautiful Helen, and eloped with her to his homeland. Now Helen stands atop the city walls to witness the horrors set in motion by her flight. When her current and former loves face each other in battle, she knows that, whatever transpires, she is bound to lose.

The most spellbound listener to this tale of Troy is our 15-year-old narrator, a Greek student completely beguiled by his teacher and slowly awakening to new feelings for his oldest friend and playmate, all while under threat from the Allies’ airstrikes above and the summary executions of suspected Greek resistance fighters by the Germans occupiers within his village. Kallifatides brilliantly interweaves the perspective of this young boy living through a war with the nuanced and urgent retelling of The Illiad by a modern female bard.
Kallifatides’ THE SIEGE OF TROY provides unique psychological insight into the story of The Illiad, downplaying the role of the gods and delving into the mindsets of its mortal participants.  Homer's epic comes to life with a renewed urgency that allows us to experience events as though firsthand, and offers vivid lessons about the senselessness of war and what it means to be human.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Photo Credit:  Florence Montmare
Theodor Kallifatides has published more than forty works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that have been translated around the world. Born in Greece in 1938, Kallifatides immigrated in 1964 to Sweden, where he began his literary career. As a translator, he has brought August Strindberg and Ingmar Bergman to Greek readers, and Giannis Ritsos and Mikis Theodorakis to Swedish ones. He has received numerous awards for his work in both Greece and Sweden. He lives in Sweden. 

Marlaine Delargy is best known for her translations of the work of Henning Mankell, John Ajvide Lindqvist, and Kristina Ohlsson. She is also the translator of Therese Bohman's Eventide and Drowned (Other Press). 
She serves on the editorial board of the Swedish Book Review. She lives in Shropshire, England.
THE SIEGE OF TROY
By Theodor Kallifatides
Other Press Paperback Original • 978-159051-971-4
On Sale Date: September 10, 2019 • Price: $14.99
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GIVEAWAY:

I am partnering with Caitlin Hurst of Other Press for this giveaway.

NOT A REQUIREMENT FOR THE GIVEAWAY, BUT PLEASE FOLLOW MY BLOG - IN THE FOLLOWERS' SECTION.

USA ONLY
September 9 - 16
Enter here
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