Customer Reviews

Sailor's Wife

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Sailor1s Wife is the story of an American girl who goes to live on a remote island in the Aegean with the parents of a Greek sailor who she met at a Florida supermarket. At first the girl, Joyce, and the sailor, Nikos, can hardly speak to one another except through the language of their mutual desire, but that is enough for them to fall deeply in love and to marry. Once he has brought her home to live with his peasant parents, Joyce soon learns enough Greek to understand that Nikos is not at all the man she though he was when she married him. Continuing his career in the merchant marine, he is hardly ever home, and when he does visit, he treats her as little more than a servant. Joyce is determined to stick out the marriage, however, because she has grown so attached to Nikos1s parents, and because she has come to feel that their almost Biblical existence is vastly more meaningful than her previous life in suburban Miami. Her resolve is sorely tested when she is rescued from an assault by a couple of Greek soldiers by Alex, a handsome, young, British intellectual visiting his Greek family. One of the great strengths of Helen Benedict1s novel is that she makes us understand the difficulty of Joyce1s dilemma by bringing island culture vividly to life, and by showing how all of the major characters were shaped by the ravages of war and dictatorship. This is a sexy, sun-filled, fast-moving coming of age story, but one that never presents Joyce1s personal struggles in isolation form the hard history that, in part, determines them. I read this book in one sitting, sometimes pacing the room to reduce the tension of suspense, other times sinking deep into my chair to savor the satisfactions of this deeply passionate and sexually adventurous young woman, and still other times shaking my head at the sad and even terrifying situations Joyce was thrust into by her simple need to be fully herself. This is a smart, beautifully written tale that has permanently changed the way I see both modern and traditional cultures. I cannot recommend it more highly.

I found this novel about Joyce, a young American girl disenchanted by her useless life in Florida in the early 70s and lured to a life of hardship on a remote Greek island by a handsome sailor very entertaining. Joyce, used to flaunting her young body in a bikini, must now keep her eyes downcast while walking through the rural village as if she does not, she will attract the young soldiers who will think she is nothing better than a prostitute. In spite of the hard work she must do each day to help her elderly in-laws eke out a living, she finds happiness in feeling that her efforts amount to something. In fact, she loves the work and her relationship with her in-laws a little more than than she atually loves her virtually unknown spoiled and arrogant husband who when on leave, treats her like a beloved pet rather than his wife. As the sailor of the title, Nikos is gone for months at a time, and naturally Joyce is lonely for people her own age. When handsome Brit, Alex appears in the small village, Joyce's fragile equilibrium is finally toppled and earth-shattering events occur faster than one of the area's most devastating earthquakes.
I loved the interplay between Joyce and her in-laws; the love and regard between them was built up nicely by the author. However, I found the ending a little disorienting and a little rushed. I realize that Joyce made all her decisions in the story from an immature standpoint, and that her actions would have been interpreted in the village in only one way, but I still would have liked the story to end a little more definitively.

All in all, the novel is definitely worth reading,if only to get that bird's-eye-view of what life on a beautiful Greek island would really be like.

Joyce is hypnotized by the beauty and attention of an exotic Greek sailor as she helps him in a Miami supermarket. Though the two can barely communicate verbally she falls deeply in love and at the age of 18 marries him against her parent's wishes.

Our story really begins when Nikos takes her home to his family on the Greek island of Ifestia where she realizes the ways and customs are quite different from the freedom she has taken for granted in the USA. Finding herself ruled over by a dominating Mother-in-law she does her best to fit in. The language barrier slowly becomes less of a problem as she grows to love the island but there is much more to living the ways of the past than she will ever be able to assimilate.

This was a wonderful book filled with more than a love story gone awry. It is the telling of a past political uproar and the wars and strife suffered by the people of Greece at the hands of the Nazi's, Turks and sometimes their own countryman. It is a story of personal freedom. I would give this book 4.5 stars if I had the option and I look forward to reading more titles by this author. Kelsana 3/30/01

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this book up on a suggestion from Cosmopolitan magazine. But I was drawn in immediately and found the book very interesting, not only by how Joyce jumped headfirst and willingly into her new role as a wife of a Grecian sailor, but also in learning about the culture and landscape of the country. It goes to show how you can find love in the strangest of places...and teaches a valuable lesson... when you marry, you really do marry your in-laws as well!

What happens when a headstrong American girl runs off with a handsome Greek sailor? Plenty. He takes her back home, to a remote Greek island, and leaves her with his parents on their peasant farm in the mountains. Cut off from everything even remotely familiar, Joyce has to adjust to a hardscrabble life ruled by traditions she doesn't understand in a culture where she is suspect. Her journey of discovery is compelling reading, and the characters are complex and real. The descriptions of life on the island are extremely vivid and well-drawn. A must read for anyone with a romantic dream of "getting away from it all."

I found the Sailor's Wife very touching yet educational. Educational because I was able to learn some basic Greek by way of the story. And touching because it told the story of a young girl who thought she would find happiness leaving her home and family to realize it was there all along. Of course living as a peasant Greek wife for two years did give her the strength to be independant. But she would also realize that culture shock also can lead to heartbreak and deception. For any young girl who reads "The Sailior's Wife" take this warning. Be wary of young, muscle-bound men with thick foreign accents. Just because they are exotic in your eyes; sometimes they are not the answer to your problems.

"This is a bitter, wise and powerful novel. Benedict's anatomy of Greek village life and peasant psychology is penetrating and just... an intensely realized personal tragedy. -- Peter Green, Los Angeles Times, July 22, 2001.

This was a truly enchanting novel, which took me to the place and time Benedict describes. The characters are well drawn, and the plot clips along at a brisk pace. It's an atmospheric novel, a hot novel -- perfect for winter. It will make a great Christmas gift that in terms of heat and romance will more than substitute a yuletide fire.

If you're interested in what happens when you fall for a dream, read this book. Joyce, the heroine, thinks love will solve all her problems, and she follows handsome Nikos to Greece. But he goes off to sea for months at a time, and she's left alone working hard for his peasant in-laws. She learns to like the life, but in the end loneliness and oppression begin to get to her and her eyes wander to other men. This book is sexy and profound, and you learn a lot about Greece and the war when you read it.

Telling the tale of young love, irrationality, and brusque decisions is Benedict's forte. Her gift of prose weaves a brilliant portrait of myriad topics.

Joyce is a young American searching to find herself, seemingly lost in her own skin, in her own world. Meet Nikos, the stunning Greek sailor. The two meet in a grocery store, where he soon whisks her off as his 18 year old bride, and takes her to his parents on the small Greek Island of Ifestia.

Ifestia, [loosely based on Lemnos, according to the author], is an island with quite a history. Constantly at war, it's people are hard, and from another time. Joyce, attempts to fit in and find her niche in Greek peasant society.

Benedict's characterizations, descriptions and brilliant prose sails the reader to another time, in a completely enveloping tale. A tale of love, tragedy, life, and its lessons rolled into one, The Sailor's Wife, attempts and succeeds at being a fascinating, thought-provoking read.

Enjoy!