The House by the River

Greece's hottest village is the homeplace of the characters in The House by the River! This book has everything: aliens wearing meat suits and pretending they really can act like humans, racism, the dialogue that reads like it had been copied and pasted from one of those 1970s' BBC daytime soaps where the sets were so cheap they wobbled every time an actor opened a door, the Mafia, misogyny, eroticised marital rape, Nazis, gaslighting, dead babies, so many dead babies, supposedly smart women acting like insipid idiots, A CHARACTER KILLED BY A POISONED BLOW DART.

If you read the preceding paragraph in a voice like Stefon from an SNL sketch, congratulations: you now already are aware of the level of sheer lunacy and incompetence with show more which this book was written. The difference between this book and a Stefon sketch though (apart from the fact that this has a lot more heterosexuality going on) is that a Stefon sketch is actually enjoyable.

The more I read this book, the angrier and more incredulous that I got. This is the dreck that Amazon chose to promote World Book Day as an example of great world literature?

Unreadable. show less

The House by the River
Lena Manta

A emotional and poignant Greek family saga following five young women as they pursue their dreams, only to realize their home by the river is a healing place.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
Life was simple in the house by the river at the foot of Mount Olympus in Greece. Theodora and the tall, handsome Gerasimos kept goats and chickens and a vegetable garden in the years preceding World War ll. And during this time they have five bright, beautiful and talented daughters: Melissanthi, Julia, Aspasia, Polyxeni, and Magdalini. Gerasimos faces an unfortunate death during the war and Theodora must use her wits and fortitude to keep her daughters fed and safe during the German occupation.

One by one, each of show more her daughters leaves home to pursue her dream for a future far away from the remote and simple village life. But before they go, Theodora takes each of them down to the river and assures them that when times get tough, they are always welcome to come back home again. She assures them that the river will wash away whatever trials and tribulations they may encounter. The storied life of each daughter is told independent of the others. Some marry and have children, some have careers and become famous, others follow their husbands around the world and enjoy wealth, and some experience loss and tragedy. They are all beautiful, independent women in the pursuit of their dreams far away from the house by the river.

“Life is like the river that flows in front of us. It carries you easily with it and pulls you wherever it’s going. And a river doesn’t come back. If it takes you way, you can’t come back. Always be careful of the river… make sure it doesn’t carry you away.“

REVIEW
Can you imagine having five daughters? Talk about drama! THE HOUSE BY THE RIVER is a riveting and delightfully entertaining saga that will grab you from the start. I listened to the Audible version which is over eighteen hours long. Many a night I would find myself staying awake late into the night. It was just to good to turn off...just 15 more minutes again and again! The writing was absolutely spell-binding and the character development superb. The chronicles of each the daughters lives were riveting, and busting with drama. My all-time favorite part of this book was when Theodora threw an memorable fit with Gerasimos and demanded that their daughter be educated. They were the very first girls in the village to go to school. Anyone who likes intricate family drama would like this epic novel, which spans over four decades.

Lena Manta has written thirteen books This is the first novel by the acclaimed Greek writer to appear in English translation. She was born in Istanbul, Turkey, to Greek parents. She moved to Greece at a young age where she now lives with her husband and two children on the outskirts of Athens.
Translator Gail Holst-Warhalf
Narrator Courtney Patterson
Publisher Brilliance Audio
Publication November 1, 2017. show less

This book kept my attention. I liked how each of the sisters' stories were told and they were all different and interesting. I am not sure I appreciated the amount of hardships all of the sisters suffered. I was really hoping that someone would have had a somewhat happy story. In the end it was a bit much for my tastes. I also felt like the author was trying to make a point about following your dreams ending in disaster and I am not sure that the message sits right with me. Despite these complaints, I was drawn into each story and the book was an engaging read.

Excellent! 5 girls leave their home in Greece searching for another life. The only thing that challenged me with the book is that I found it hard to keep track of who was who. Loved it!!

Η κα Μαντά έδωσε και πάλι τον καλύτερό της εαυτό, σε ένα βιβλίο με πολλά στοιχεία. Όλες οι ηρωίδες έχουν ένα κοινό στοιχείο, ένα όνειρο, την αγάπη για τη ζωή. Η καθεμία προσπαθεί να ζήσει το όνειρό της με το δικό της τρόπο και τη δική της προσωπικότητα. Πιστεύω πως πρόκειται για το ίδιο και μοναδικό όνειρο που είχε και η μητέρα τους, αρκετά πριν από αυτές. Να ζήσει, με τον άνθρωπο που αγαπούσε. Μάνα και κόρες, show more συνθέτουν ένα συγκλονιστικό βιβλίο. Συγχαρητήρια! show less

I'm sorry to say that this was unreadable. It was probably in part due to a clunky and awkward translation, but I couldn't tell whether the tale was simply a soap opera/cheap romance, or the translation was masking something more moving. I read about 20% and had to put it down. At that point, it had chronologically described a woman and how her daughters left their village home one by one, and was part way through telling what happened to the eldest daughter...yawn... So flat. Expected it to be like My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, but definitely nowhere near it!

Hard to read at times because of the choices the characters make. But very good book. Well written.