Olympia's Dream

A young girl is abandoned in a village full of bigots during World War 2. She is lost and confused and terrified by the horrific events overtaking her home country. In the middle of Nazi occupation she must find a way to honour her family and save herself. Along comes a handsome young man to rescue her but he is not all he seems and in many ways more terrifying than the Nazis. Salvation seems a long way off until the arrival of a group of young orphans who need her help to survive.

Auteur

In Olympia's Dream, Milton Johanides again turns to the literary tropes he likes best, testing the key protagonists in their faith and in their enduring resilience to horrific outside events. War, love, religion and immorality tousle in this fast-paced, energetic yet essentially romantic narrative, combining a belief in Self with a near superstitious abandonment to a capricious force the characters call Destiny, or sometimes God. As with all Johanides' novels, good is not always found in church and redemption is possible even for the most troubled villain. The relationship between Olympia and her father is one of the most touching aspects of the novel as she comes to terms with his questionable past, but there are other surprises too, like the sudden appearance of the amiable and handsome Petrakis who brings to the Papayiannis house touches of humility and correctness, in sharp contrast to the dark ruthlessness of their longstanding enemy, the Antonious. Johanides shows himself perfectly capable of using the psychology of the heroine and her family to drive the action to its dramatic and emotional conclusion.