The Olive Grove: Travels in Greece [Paperback]

Katherine Kizilos (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lonely Planet Journeys (Travel Literature) | Publication Date: September 1997

Katherine Kizilos travels to fabled islands, troubled border zones and her family's village deep in the mountains, vividly evoking breathtaking landscapes, generous people and passionate politics.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Katherine Kizilos brings a personal touch to the Greek isles, traveling from Athens to Chrysambela, the Peloponnesian village where her father lived until, at 17, he was put on a plane to Australia to escape the German occupation. She describes the first meeting with Grandmother Katerina, who spent the evening kissing her hand and stroking her hair, and the wide, operatic views overlooking the Corinthian Gulf. Kizilos's trip also takes in Syros, Thíra, Patmos, Ikaria, and Lesbos. She ventures into the netherworld of the border, visiting Thrace despite her relatives' dire predictions, and provides an intimate picture of Greece that is far different from the usual Acropolis-dominated postcard depictions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0864424590
• ISBN-13: 978-0864424594
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 3.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,459,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Treat, November 24, 1999

By 

Alekos (Cancun, Quintana Roo Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Olive Grove: Travels in Greece (Paperback)

This book is about travel in Greece. It is not organized with care, and this is one of the things I most enjoyed about it. The reader sorta follows along as the writer takes him to this or that corner of the mainland and the islands without a preestablished itinerary, and that's the way it should be in a relaxed place like Greece. The descriptions of some places are superb and there are lots of interesting characters, each with his own emotional baggage and fascinating story. Some of them are likeable and others are pretty awful. The best thing about the book is the close connection the writer has with some of the people she writes about. They are her family and some of them have suffered fiercely from wars and political conflict, but the worst suffering is what the land itself is undergoing in the name of "development:" abandoned groves and fields, empty villages, people unaccustomed to the modern world and left without hope for the future, some not even able to understand the possibilities of the future. Since she is an Australian of Greek descent, the author knows there is no going back from Western values and attitudes, but her book asks what is so great about such attitudes and ambitions if embracing them means we have to leave behind the tenderness, beauty and love of the land that are still the basic principles of life in many areas of Greece. Interestingly, the writer is remarkably even-handed in dealing with Greek/Turkish relations. I would recommend this work to just about anyone, even those who are not particularly interested in Greece.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vivid, concise account by an Australian-Greek journalist, September 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Olive Grove: Travels in Greece (Paperback)

Sparked by childhood stories told by her father and a natural curiosity for the truth, Kizilos retraces the steps of her father to find the heart and soul of her roots. This entails a journey of not only the mainland, but several small islands and villages where the past struggles violently with the future.

Told in a concise and vivid way, she is both straightforward and philosophical. In contrast to other travel accounts, Kizilos' writing is accessible and often emotional because she is both a journalist who understands how to write for the public and a woman who feels life.

Because she travels to several "unknown" places in Greece -- not just Athens, Mykonos and other popular places frequented by tourists -- readers looking for something off the beaten track can appreciate her more.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great travel companion, June 9, 1998

By 

Elias Baumgarten (Ann Arbor, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Olive Grove: Travels in Greece (Paperback)

Katherine Kizilos, through her book, was one of my most treasured travel companions during my recent month-long trip to Greece. Though I kept thinking to myself, "this is not great literature," I enjoyed and benefitted from her writing immensely. In one part of the book she is a fairly typical tourist, in spite of her Greek roots and ability to speak Greek. It was comforting to read her mistakes and frustrations. But the larger theme of the work, both in the section where she is a tourist and where she returns to her father's village, is the contrast between the traditional Greek ways and the encroachment of the modern. Along the way are numerous insights into Greek history (and its effect on people today), the landscape, and the relation of Greeks and Turks.

I very much enjoyed Katherine Kizilos's warm and sensitive book and was very tempted to drive a few hours out of my way to her father's village on the off chance that she might be there!