In the backdrop of 1885 Ottoman Thessaloniki, a seemingly innocent jest, fleeting glances, and long-buried secrets weave the beginnings of a love affair between a wide-eyed, dreamy man and a dynamic, assertive woman. Against the backdrop of George I's reign in Athens, bustling trade in Ermoupoli, and the ever-present fog in Thessaloniki, their journey unfolds.
These two souls traverse the landscapes of old Greece, only to return to these very places years later—transformed by the fiery crucible of wars, now known as the New Countries. "Old and New Countries" unfolds a narrative of women stifled by societal constraints, of clumsy men and silent maids navigating the belle époque, an era christened as a boon by the privileged elite.
Beyond that, it's a tale of coastal lighthouses piercing through the darkness, a celebration of the ritualistic dance between water and sea. Jules Verne and his literary creations become portals to the untamed realms of imagination. The novel explores the nuances of the erotic human gaze juxtaposed with the authoritative stare, revealing the dichotomy where the old triumphs and the new struggles to articulate its identity.
Author: Zourgos Isidoros, Patakis Publications 2023, Pages: 400.
