There is something about stories that allows us to process the present. We listen to tales of tribulations overcome so that we might imagine we can survive ours. Children listen to the same fairytale time and time again because there is a puzzle in their hearts they need to solve.
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In a nutshell
Irini and Tasso and their daughter Chara, live a simple yet content life in a tiny Greek village. After a fire is started by a man attempting to clear land, their life literally goes up in flames. Many homes in their tiny village are destroyed, people killed and the region’s natural beauty wiped out.
In the wake of the fire, each member of the family has their own struggles to overcome. Chara with her deep scars across her back, Tasso with his trauma and depression at not being able to save his family, and Irini who is grippled by guilt at her part in the fate of the man who started the fire.
Book Club Notes
A book inspired by the wildfires that have broken out across the globe – in Athens, California and Australia, it highlights and humanises the individuals who are caught in the crosshairs of environmental disasters and how it upends their lives. This book is one of those devastatingly beautiful books that lingers in your mind long after you finish it. The book is narrated by Irini and flits between life in the days and weeks following the fire when scars were raw and emotions high, and life months later when the scars were ever present but little sparks of hope glimmered. It’s a story of human greed, environmental damage, survival and our own power of renewal and redemption. The characters are presented as human – flawed yet inherently good – the perfect combination that allows the reader to emphasise and connect with them.
Read If
You like emotional books, based on real life events with complex characters and a storyline that has a fact not fiction feel to it.
Rating
Writing – 10/10
Character Development – 10/10
Plot Twist – 7/10
Shareability – 10/10
The Nitty Gritty
A note on our book ratings
Storyline: How good is the storyline? Is it believable and complex or does it make you shake your head in its ridiculousness?
Writing: How well written is the book? Do you find yourself wowed by the writing or unimpressed?
Character Development: Do the characters evolve and grow through the book and are they multi-dimensional?
Plot Twist: Were you able to predict the end, or did the author give you some surprises along the way to keep you on your toes?
Shareability: How likely are you to share the book?
