This book is set during an interesting (and rarely considered) period of Greek history. It's very readable. But I expected political intrigue. And I got family melodrama instead. But my main quibble is that characters didn't act true to their personalities. Would Eleni really spend decades with an apologist for the military regime? Would a child frightened of her own shadow become a revolutionary? Almost... but not quite there. A 3.5, really. As far as "family dramas" go, this one's really quite interesting.. I'm just not one for "family dramas" generally. What pulled me into reading The Green Shore was the political backdrop ...or, centrepiece in a way.. of the novel - Greece and Athenians in the period immediately before, during, and immediately after the 1967 coup. I'd never read about it before, I was curious. The author did a wonderful job of exploring the myriad of approaches to living life under these circumstances that ordinary citizens can choose among, and I found myself intrigued with each character, actually... which I found surprising as I normally latch on to one of the main characters or none at all.. it's rare for me to find myself interested in all of them! Unfortunately, the novel just sort of stopped, really, at the end and thus I found the ending very unsatisfying in its treatment of all but 1 character (though I did like how the story came full circle at the end for that one character!).
What do You think about De Groene Kust (2012)?
A great story of family, place and politics all in one. Fantastic read.
—Dona
