T. Styppas

Told from the eyes of a little boy, this story of World War II is written in a simple style. Tasouli is an obedient child with high curiosity. As a child who lives in wartime, he clearly knows too much and grows up too fast in the mind and heart. As this story is written from memory, I found it rather difficult to keep track of time. But it didn't lessen the enjoyment. Tasouli's learning about right or wrong, cultures of people from different countries, and his interaction with the Voices are very fun to read and his changes during growing up are strongly felt. This story is really worth reading. I would recommend this book to readers who love historical fiction.

I received a free copy of this book in accordance with the terms of Librarything Early Reviewer program.… (more)

First off, let me say that my comments on this book may sound derogatory, but that is not at all my intent, nor should it deter anyone from reading the book. They are simply my opinions and should be taken as such.

I went into this book hoping for a story of a young boy's experiences during the Nazi occupation of Greece. What I got was an apparent attempt to describe the entire world around the boy.

It's as if the author is trying (and almost succeeds, in fact!) to chronicle every minuscule occurrence, situation, thought and emotion of his childhood, along with the general atmosphere of the Greek society.

This overabundance of information detracted from what should be a very human story, and made me feel as if I were reading some documentary treatise instead of a personal memoir.

It's as much the fault of a lack of competent editing as it is the lack of experience on the part of the author. Also if the book had been better formatted it might have made it a bit easier to read - The lack of adequate paragraph separation added to the reading discomfort by making the already-long passages seem even more arduous to take.

I also found that it was sometimes very difficult to distinguish the narrator's voice, as it would often switch from the very child-like views and outlooks of the boy in the story, to the now-adult (and elderly adult at that) thoughts and feelings of the author. It could be said that this gives one a more complete sense of it all, but it rather had the effect of confusing me and thereby throwing off the flow of the story.

I did not finish the book. I got about 150 pages in and could take no more. I may at some point in the future pick it back up again and try to finish it, as I feel somewhat apologetic toward the author's childhood self by not listening to his entire story, but we shall see.

The reason for my three star rating is because I was uncomfortable giving it only two. The author evidently poured his heart and soul into the work and it deserves at least three stars.… (more)