Author:
Format: Quality Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: Apr 2013
Genre: Fiction - Sagas
Retail Price: $15.00
Pages: 288
Perfect for fans of Tatiana de Rosnay's Sarah's Key, this stunning debut novel brings to life World War II-era and modern-day Greece—and tells the story of a vibrant family and the tragic secret kept hidden for generations.
Boston, 2000: Calliope Notaris Brown receives a shocking phone call. Her beloved uncle Nestor has passed away, and now Callie must fly to Patras, Greece, to claim her inheritance. Callie's mother, Clio—with whom Callie has always had a difficult relationship—tries to convince her not to make the trip. Unsettled by her mother's strange behavior, and uneasy about her own recent engagement, Callie decides to escape Boston for the city of her childhood summers. After arriving at the heady peak of Carnival, Callie begins to piece together what her mother has been trying to hide. Among Nestor's belongings, she uncovers clues to a long-kept secret that will alter everything she knows about her mother's past and about her own future.
Greece, 1940: Growing up in Patras in a prosperous family, Clio Notaris and her siblings feel immune to the oncoming effects of World War II, yet the Italian occupation throws their privileged lives into turmoil. Summers in the country once spent idling in the clover fields are marked by air-raid drills; the celebration of Carnival, with its elaborate masquerade parties, is observed at home with costumes made from soldiers' leftover silk parachutes. And as the war escalates, the events of one fateful evening will upend Clio's future forever.
A moving novel of the search for identity, the challenges of love, and the shared history that defines a family, The Clover House is a powerful debut from a distinctive and talented new writer.
Advance praise for The Clover House
"A rare treat: an elegantly written debut about a family mystery set during wartime, the slipperiness of memory, and the challenges of forgiveness . . . Read it, read it!"—Jenna Blum, author of Those Who Save Us
"Layered and complex, The Clover House is a provocative examination of family secrets and the things we inherit. Henriette Lazaridis Power immerses the reader in a world of tradition and resilience, creating characters who linger long beyond their final pages. This is one of the best books I've read in a long time."—Brunonia Barry, author of The Lace Reader
"Sharply observed and evocative, The Clover House is a riveting story about desire, the cost of silence, and the power of a hidden secret from the past to change everything about the present. This debut is a gem."—Dawn Tripp, author of Game of Secrets
"The Clover House is a tremendously readable story of how family secrets reverberate, how war can force impossible choices, and how a very modern woman faces old longings for her mother's love and a true home. This is a smart and lovely novel."—Holly Lecraw, author of The Swimming Pool
"Readers will feel the eloquently written quandary of Henriette Lazaridis Power's vivid and troubled protagonist, a woman with one foot in Greece and the other in America; a woman who, like so many immigrants and first-generation Americans, struggles to be at home in two countries."—Randy Susan Meyers, author of The Murderer's Daughters
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