The Lucky Child

Finished February 21
The Lucky Child by Marianne Apostolides
This was a short quick, but satisfying read. Apostolides was drawn to her family's history and began to do research on it, particularly the period during the war when her father was a boy. This fictional account draws on that history and the immediacy of it is very well done. Set in Thessalonika and mountain villages nearby, this tells the story of Agamemnon, an officer in the army, a veterinarian who was in charge of the army's animals. He also served his community as a veterinarian, and was a strong royalist. This tells the story from the wars early years, through 1943 and deals with not only the Nazi occupation of Greece and the effect that had on this community, but also the communist EAM/ELAS groups that later led to civil war in Greece. We see the story from a variety of points of view, Agamemnon, his wife Mary, his young son Taki, his older daughter Loukia and see how the point of view changes the story. We see their interactions with the neighbours and the dangers they face. This is an interesting vignette of this short period in time. Apostolides also includes information on her real family history in an epilogue that adds context to the tale.