"The Sunrise" is the name of the long-awaited new novel by the author of the best-selling bestsellers "The Island", "The Return" and "The Topic", Victoria Hislop, which is expected to be released on September 25.
With her unique mark of narrative, Victoria Hislop once again sheds light on a fascinating part of Mediterranean history that is often overlooked, as has been so strongly done in three of her previous novels.
In the summer of 1972, Famagusta is a city bathed in a golden glow of fortune, a place where Greeks and Turkish Cypriots live harmoniously. An ambitious couple, Aphrodite and Savvas Papakosta, are preparing to open the most impressive hotel on the island and their staff consists of both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, who have come to Famagusta to escape the years of turmoil and violence that swept Cyprus. Members of the two neighboring families, Georgiou and Ozkans, find work at the hotel.
But under the splendor and splendor of the city, a commotion begins to be born.
When a Greek coup plunger plunges the island into chaos, Cyprus faces a catastrophic conflict. Turkey is invading "to protect, as it claims, the Turkish Cypriot minority", and Famagusta is under attack. Forty thousand people are now losing their property. In the deserted city, only two families remain.
The day of the attack on Famagusta and its hasty abandonment was August 14, 1974, forty years before this summer.
The people of Famagusta expect other countries to help them return to their homes. Instead, the Turkish army sets up a barbed wire fence around the city. It is a ghost town, of such dimensions as Famagusta, that sparked the imagination of Victoria Hislop. This is the first time he has put a novel in a place where it has not been done. It is a place where no one is allowed to go, a place full of forgotten memories of people.
"I stood very close to the barbed wire that is supervised from the top of a building which is right next to it. It's a really creepy place. The scale of the buildings, the confidence with which this city was built, had a huge emotional impact when I first saw it. It is really creepy to stand there and look at the dark windows of dozens of hotels, knowing that their beds are probably still unmade, and that there are still tables in the dining room that have been dusty and worn out for four decades. That's what gave my imagination the biggest boost, says the author. I wanted, he continues, to highlight the fact that many Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots lived nearby and there is a good chance that they could relive as before. What happened in Famagusta and on the island as a whole was a tragedy. It is an island full of sorrow - but a solution could be found. This is the story of Famagusta, which remains empty by humans to this day, but is inhabited only by snakes and rats. There is no human presence. On this 40th anniversary, negotiations are once again taking place, and there will be a lot of media attention. Maybe one of these residents and their families will one day have the opportunity to return. ”
Praise for Victoria Hislop
THE ISLAND
"Finally - a book about the beach with a heart", (The Observer)
"Hislop's deep research, imagination and patent for his love for Crete creates a convincing portrait of the island! Moving and absorbing. " (Evening Standard)
RETURN
"Executed with vivacity and sensitivity" (Sunday Telegraph)
"The return aims to open the eyes and catch the reader's attention" Hislop deserves a medal! " (The Independent)
ISSUE
"This is the narrative at its best and just like a mosaic, when each thread is sewn in place, so the layers and the history of relationships, past and present emerge" (Sunday Express)
"Describing, beautifully detailed and ambitious" (The Sunday Times)
VICTORIA HISLOP
Inspired by a visit to Spinalonga, the abandoned Greek leprosy colony, Victoria Hislop wrote THE ISLAND in 2005. It became an international number one smash hit, published in thirty languages with over 3 million copies worldwide, and converted in Greek TV series. The strong reaction to Victoria's book was an incentive to learn Greek, and to become a Lepra's ambassador, and was named British Book of the Year Award winner in 2007. Her love for the Mediterranean led her to Spain, writing for the painful secrets of the civil war in "The Return", which hit the top of bestsellers in 2008. In the third novel, "The Thread", he returned to Greece to tell the extraordinary and turbulent story of Thessaloniki and its people in throughout the 20th century. It was widely acclaimed in 2011, confirming Hislop's reputation as an inspirational writer, followed by short stories, "The Last Dance" and other stories. Sunrise is her fourth Famagusta novel. Victoria divides her time between England and Greece.
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