Tamar Hodes

In this fictionalised account of the lives of a group of young artists, musicians and actors who lived on the Greek island of Hydra during the 1960s, Tamar Hodes very skilfully uses a fictional couple, Jack and Frieda Silver, to tell the story of some of these real-life characters, who include a young Leonard Cohen, Marianne, the woman who becomes his muse, and authors George Johnston and Charmian Clift. Jack and Frieda, accompanied by their two young children, join this lively, creative community, hoping to mend their broken marriage – but it soon becomes clear that dysfunction and complexity in relationships is not unique to them!
From start to finish I loved this moving and beautifully written novel and immediately felt drawn into the lives of all the characters, both real and fictional. As I read my head was full of Cohen’s music and I enjoyed all the literary and artistic references which are included in the story. The intimate details of the complex and often dysfunctional relationships, of the hedonism and of “observing” the excitement of the creative process certainly made for fascinating reading. However, the main pleasure I derived from reading this book came from the author’s evocative descriptions of the location, one of my favourite Greek islands. Her often poetic descriptions conjured up such vivid images of this beautiful place: the daily lives of the “native” Greeks, their legendary hospitality, the food, the sun, the sea – at times I felt as though I was back there, smelling and savouring all (well, most!) of what was being described.
This story powerfully captures the egotism of “creators”, as well as how destructive the creative process can be to relationships and family life. Whilst this is not a novel idea, this account is certainly a thought-provoking exploration into the process and raises the question about whether it is an almost inevitable consequence of it! Another theme which emerged was an insight into the fact that the women artists, in whatever field, were usually less able to devote themselves to their creativity as fully as the men were …. has very much changed in the intervening half century?!
I think that Tamar Hodes has written a gloriously beautiful, haunting and thought-provoking book which captures so vividly the massive social and artistic changes which took place in the 1960s. As I was reading I was reminded of the wonderful travel-writing of Patrick Leigh Fermor because, as he did, she has managed to evocatively capture a significant period in history whilst also conveying her obvious love for this particular Greek island. I think it is a book which will delight anyone who loves Greece and is nostalgic for the 1960s!… (more)

This book started off really well, but seemed to get lost halfway through. Raffy is a painter, and a rather dislikeable character. She also has the ability to change into a bird, and it is in her birdlike state one night that she meets her real mother, who has the same shapeshifting ability. Together they decide to build a home for themselves under water. It is at this point that the plot seems to fall apart, and while there is obviously an element of fantasy that would naturally require you to suspend your belief, I felt that this expected just a bit too much. It wasn't too bad, but I wouldn't read anything else by this author.… (more)