Although there is no shortage of books that describe the personal and familial turmoil that results from civil war, Eleni has to be among the most devastating accounts ever written. Civil war is the nastiest kind of war, a war in which one’s own brethren becomes his enemies. The disjointed sense of loyalty associated with these internal struggles only fuels the chaos. Without that feeling of national unity that would otherwise pervade a conflict against a foreign entity, civil war becomes nothing more than a vehicle for senseless killing. In other words, civil war sucks, and we’ve seen it suck in just about every corner of the globe. It sucked in Iran, it sucked in Afghanistan, it sucked big time in Sierra Leone, and in this book we learn just how much it sucked in Greece.Eleni Gatzoyiannis was a Greek mother of five who lived in an obscure mountain village near the Albanian border. After the Germans who occupied Greece got their asses kicked in 1945, the country found itself entirely surrounded by the newly formed Soviet bloc to its north. Stalin’s influence heavily penetrated this part of Greece and empowered the country’s Communist Party to form its own military wing, the inaptly named Democratic Army of Greece. Essentially a band of thugs, these communist guerrillas terrorized the northern mountain regions in which Eleni’s village was nestled. With aspirations to take over Greece and create a classless Marxist society for which their Russian heroes would be proud, these guerrillas were ultimately responsible for the actions that gave rise to the Greek Civil War (1946–1949).This book follows the story of Eleni as she struggles to maintain a false sense of camaraderie with the guerrillas who have infiltrated her village while at the same time trying to protect her children from conscription, abduction, or worse. This is not an easy balance for Eleni or for anyone else in her situation, for to be caught trying to protect others from the guerrillas is to be yourself exposed as a traitor to the cause. It is disheartening, also, to discover how many times Eleni misses an opportunity to escape her predicament. Although some of the doors of opportunity close by no fault of her own, others remain open and are simply ignored by Eleni due to a fear of social repercussions. Greek village life in the 1940s adheres to a strict moral code that prevents Eleni from making decisions that could have possibly averted her fate.In some ways, the most frightening aspect of this book is the transformation of the village itself during the guerrillas’ occupation, especially once the secret police are unleashed. Before the war, the banality of life is broken occasionally by the innocuous practice of neighborhood gossip. But as pressure is mounted by the guerrillas to weed out any “traitors” in the village, this gossip takes on a much more sinister and menacing role. A meddling busybody who is once thought harmless by her neighbors now wields the power to end one’s freedom, or worse, one’s life! The guerrillas, of course, take advantage of the villagers’ proclivity to turn on each other in the name of self-preservation, and that Eleni suffers this additional burden of suspicion and gross mistrust of those around her makes her situation all the more grievous.Eventually, Eleni is indeed executed by the same communist guerrillas to whom she has pledged her loyalty, but not before ensuring the liberation of her family. Please do not scold me, for this is not a spoiler—Eleni’s death and the escape of her children form the premise of this book as discussed in its introduction. The book is really about her plight, not her demise. Also, what’s fascinating about this particular biography is that it is written by her son who just happens to live two towns away from me. He was a writer for the New York Times who left the paper in 1980 and traveled back to Greece to unravel the story of his mother, the woman who secured his freedom. In this book, he documents Eleni’s life and the events leading to her death so that the memory of her sacrifice and the knowledge of what happened to her and other villagers like her will live on.
I picked up this book in a small bookstore in Greece. I was on my honeymoon and I had finished all the books I brought with me, so I stumbled onto Eleni by accident. I honestly think I picked it up because I kept making the joke that the actor Nicolas Cage had written it in the bookstore (store owner didn't think it was as funny as I did). I am so glad I found this book, because I couldn't put it down and I learned so much about a period in Greece's history. At a first glance the book seems long, but it's truly absorbing and fascinating. Eleni is the story of Gage's mother, Eleni Gatzoyiannis, killed during the Greek Civil War as she arranged for the escape of her children to New York. The book starts out with Gage, now grown and a journalist, trying to piece together information about his mother's death. This was the slowest part of the book for me, but then the book starts reconstructing Eleni's life in Lia in the 30's-40's, and the growing threat of Communism after World War 2. Gage does a great job of letting the viewer feel the building tension and danger around the small village. The descriptions of the torture used on the villagers is pretty horrifying, but even more so is the way they turned against each other for protection. Although I obviously knew the outcome of the story and that Gage's mother dies protecting her children, it's still so compelling - I found myself concerned about all the secondary characters, and even dismissing the knowledge that Eleni was doomed, I was so drawn in. A son's book about his mother has the possibility of being too personal or too emotional, but perhaps Gage's experience as an investigative journalist came into play here. The book is fantastic.
Do You like book Eleni (1996)?
Communist insurgents battled to topple the government of Greece. 1948. People beyond Greece scarcely took note of the struggle at the time and all of it nearly is forgotten today. May, "Eleni," never be forgot. This singular book is so beautiful and so terrifying it must be ranked among the finest writings of the 20th Century in America. Nicholas Gage's tribute to his mother - Eleni - his recounting of the fighting and suffering which attended civil war in Greece needs to have attention called to it. It is a triumph.
—Raymond
I had the opportunity to read this book while on vacation in Greece and it kept me inside on the couch rather than outside exploring the village I was in. It was writen by a journalist who aims to clear his mother's name and find those who persecuted her during the war. What he finds out is far from pretty: villagers pitted against eachother, war, famine, death, and torture (at times, nausiatingly descriptive and unbiased). The author offers a stage by stage synopsis of the political and physical aspect of the war which helps contextualize this amazingly vivid story of his martyred mother, Eleni, and the sacrifices she made to get her children out of Greece.
—Aimee
This is a difficult book to read, not in terms of style or prose but in content. The events surrounding the Greek Civil war at the end of the 1940's are depicted in incredible heart wrending detail and the horrendous tradgedies that unfolded are brought to life by an author who has written from the bottom of his heart.As well it might, given the book is the story of his mother's murder at the hands of the Greek communist guerrillas in the mountains of northern Greece, bordering on Albania.The cruelty of the Andartes beggars belief and the mass executions, enforced conscription and evacuation of children to Communist countries are sometimes hard to digest.Having said all this, I think this is an excellent book and well worth me ploughing through 563 pages.I have dropped off 1 star as I thought that the story was rather drawn out in some superflous detail at some stages but then the author will have wanted to record everything he researched so it is extremely understandable.
—Jimgoodall
