Australian author Mary D. Brooks made her literary debut with this superb novel in 2001, a novel so powerful not only to her reader but to her own need to explore heritage. She was born in Larissa, Greece and her grandfather related stories of the town occupied by the Germans in WW II - a horrific experience but also a story of courage for those who fought against the Nazis, some losing their lives to save others. When Mary was 10 her neighbor, a survivor of Auschwitz marked with the tattoo shared concentration camp stories. Mary notes, I'm not Jewish and I was not aware of the Holocaust; a child of the 1970′s and blind to what had transpired in the 1940′s. It opened my eyes to what had happened during that time. I discovered the horrific details (if the extermination of six million Jews wasn't enough) of systematic torture of not only Jews and others the Nazis deemed subhuman but the brutality shown to homosexuals. I decided to combine the story of the occupation, the Jews and two brave women who survived it all.' Mary's art has been published in Australian Magazines and she works as a web and graphic designer in addition to being the chief editor and owner of the AUSXIP News and Multimedia Network of sites (AUSXIP Network - Online since 1996 and dedicated to all things Xena Warrior Princess).
Though there have been many novels relating the tragedy of WW II, few have had the courage to concentrate on the Greek aspect. Larissa is one of the oldest settlements in Greece with artifacts uncovered dating at least the Neolithic period (6000 BC). The name means "stronghold" in ancient Greek. It was also the head of the Thessalian League during the Hellenistic and Roman era. Today, it's a modern city and is Thessaly's capital. It was a site of a concentration camp during the war. It is here that Mary places her story, echoing not only the horrors but also the secrets, passions and destinies that define her novel. This we sense in her Prologue April 16, 1941 `Thunder boomed overhead and across the valley as the night sky was lit up with exploding artillery shells in the hills surrounding the small farming town of Larissa, Greece. This once sleepy town was the scarred battlefield between the Allies who were defending the town and the oncoming juggernaut that was the German army. When the Italians tried to invade Greece, the invaders had been defeated. Great jubilation had resulted in a joyous celebration that stretched for days. In the town, the pride over the news that the Italians had been beaten back flourished amidst the sorrow for the fallen. But after the euphoria of the victory against the Italian invaders had faded, the Greek government realized that the Axis powers had not been defeated, only stalled. The government stumbled from one crisis to another, trying to starve off the inevitable. What they feared the most happened in the spring of 1941, a day that many Greeks had been anxiously anticipating for months. The Germans had arrived at the outskirts of Larissa and were raging through the hills and valleys like hungry locusts. The British, Australian, and New Zealand soldiers kept the Germans at bay until they could hold them no longer, and now a retreat was in progress. Burning cars, trucks, and bodies of soldiers and Greeks littered the roadways as the battles continued. A young girl stood outside on a clear night, gazing at Mount Ossa in the distance. The sound of falling shells and the rumble of tanks thundered in the background. Zoe Lambros looked up into the heavens for a long moment.' So we meet Zoe and then Eva - `Eva was Major Han Muller's crippled daughter, a tall, dark haired, blue-eyed young woman of twenty-two. She glanced at her cane, which was leaning against the wall, and shook her head slightly at her predicament... She hated Larissa. She hated the backward villagers who didn't bother to hide their hatred. She knew she would; that wasn't the surprise. She wasn't sure if the villagers pitied her or out rightly despised her on her sojourns outside.'
The story takes place between 1942 to 1947. `In war ravaged Greece under German occupation that was destroying every manifestation of individuality comes the story of two women making difficult choices. They meet under extraordinary circumstances. Zoe Lambros and Eva Muller go through a great deal of hardship but their experiences are entirely different. There is no question they hate each other from the moment they meet. The war is not only surrounding them, but their souls and needs also have to fight a great battle. This beautiful story about sacrifice, pain, broken innocence and love that no one was anticipating. Eva and Zoe must work together and overcome their hatred for each other while facing down their own demons. Hatred turns to friendship as they find common ground while helping Jews escape from the Nazis.' A brilliant visit to a horrible time written with courage to reflect on the suffering of homosexuals whose fate was so often that of the Jews and gypsies and other undesirables in Hitler's mind. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, April 15
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