Kronos

Kronos is a passionate, powerful contemporary Greek tragedy centered on a wily Greek beauty who is loved by two brothers – one a leftist leader and the other a rightwing colonel – whose intertwined lives paint a fraught multi-generational family saga of contemporary Greece. The unforgettable beauty of the azure Aegean and Greece’s rugged mountains provide the exotic background for a story of primitive passions harkening back to ancient times. The storytelling begins in a women’s cave of remembrance carved many millennia ago but still alive with love that never dies.

Marika of the blue-black hair is a charismatic and indomitable modern Greek woman beloved by maybe one too many young village bloods. Christos, the left-winger with star power and a big heart, is on the losing side of the Greek Civil War after the Nazi Occupation and immigrates to Boston where he never stops yearning for his lost love. Yorgos, the right-wing brother, becomes one of the powerful colonels in the Greek junta and almost but never quite wins Marika.Looming between the brothers, whose lives play out not only in the shadows and allure of Athens but also among the strong and resilient Greek community of America, is Marika’s most deeply held secret. Which of the brothers is the father of her beloved son Nikos?In Laurie Devine’s powerful novel “Kronos”, Greece’s harsh landscape provides the outer backdrop of a story of primitive passions. The destiny of three are now inexorably tied together in this epic tale of eternal love and slow-burning hatred, full of political betrayals, family machinations, and lyrical sexual fulfillment. Here, Laurie Devine, the author of the hugely successful works “Nile”, “Saudi” and “Crescent”, gives us her eminently best work.

~ Aristides Delagrammatikas, Translator, Greek language “Kronos.”

This classic, satisfying saga abounds with joy, deceit, betrayals, seething emotion, and the wild and sensual rhythms of this country held so dear by so many. What is Greece really like? It is Zorba dancing and hearty taverna fare and the Aegean, that oh-so-beautiful sea—births not only deep romantic passion but also the ancient legacy for philosophic greatness, and ethical struggles for the goodness that can become life’s richest treasure. The story of Marika is not only centered on a woman who inspires undying love but also on a woman who develops the will and the courage to become a true hero of her time and her place.This digital edition is the first time this novel has been published in the United States. But it was published in 1991 in London by Andre Deutsch and in paperback in London by Arrow in 1993. Kronos was translated into Greek in 2021 and subsequently published in Athens.