Ferry Tales

By George N. Giannaris

Book Overview

In 1976 a simple real estate transaction affected my life forever. "Brown's Cabins" on the North Fork of Long Island became "Hellenic Cabins & Snack Bar." My father, a Greek immigrant, poured his efforts into the Snack Bar portion of the business. Unaware of his incredible, gifted palate, he created a landmark restaurant, by accident, in the middle of nowhere; a business affected by the cross migration of travelers using the ferry terminal at the end of the island. "Ferry Tales" is about a seed planted over thirty years ago grown into a bonsai tree, groomed by the evolution of its clients, trained by a business that is either a madhouse or empty, rooted in Greek culture, potted in a region that bears the geographic uniqueness of the Garden of Eden, and nurtured by a gateway across America. It is based on comical, real events, belabored by the stresses of a successful family business, and fixed in the history and culture of a unique area, poised as the next great wine region of America.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1419690345
• ISBN13: 9781419690341
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Booksurge Publishing
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Charming, funny, insightful

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. As other reviewers have noted, it's laugh-out-loud funny! Interwoven with family stories, we learn about life on the North Fork of Long Island and the characters who inhabit it. Mr. Giannaris is obviously a keen student of human nature. Fast, enjoyable reading.

Ferry Tales - an offering to the world

REVIEWED BY CHARLENE KNADLE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH SUFFOLK COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE CHARLENE KNADLE RECEIVED HER BACHELOR'S DEGREE FROM HARDING COLLEGE, MASTER'S FROM STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY, AND DOCTORATE FROM ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY. SHE IS A POET (DANDELION SLEEVES: POEMS OF NATURE AND ORDINARY LIFE; LOCAL COLOR: THINGS, PLACES, PERSONS, EXPERIENCES) AND NOVELIST (PAPER LOVERS) WHOSE WORK HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR A PUSHCART PRIZE. SHE EXAMINED THE WORKS OF PAT CONROY FOR THE 11-VOLUME LIBRARY REFERENCE WORK,POPULAR CONTEMPORARY WRITERS. George Giannaris describes his book, Ferry Tales, as being "primarily for my children," yet I have seldom read an autobiographical work that seems more of an offering to the world. (Most recently, I found that quality of voice in the late Nuala O'Faolain's Are You Somebody? The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman and have since read upwards of a dozen such books.) Giannaris doesn't disguise autobiography as fiction, the way Khaled Hosseini, in most of The Kite Runner, seems to. The book is straightforwardly about himself, yet there is a "storybook" feel to the narrative as he relates incident after incident. In the process, the unique characteristics of colorful characters become exposed. His experiences are varied, intertwined with the lives of others, and lived for long durations in different locations--Brooklyn, Queens, both forks of Long Island's east end, and across the ocean in Greece, among others. He has felt included and loved, chastised and shunned; he has seen himself as the "outsider" and as the center of action; he has felt enormous pride and keen embarrassment at members of his family. In short, he invokes a sense of the universal, stimulating in readers memories of our own related but very different lives. The book is peppered with humor--both smiles and guffaws, all of it organic, none forced. An occasional phrase seems both perfect and admirably witty, some bordering on the literary. And there are passages that suddenly and unexpectedly draw tears. George Giannaris writes of his own life, yet he often mysteriously seems more observer than actor, even as he lets the reader in on his inner responses and outer reactions. Most of the time we notice his generosity of spirit towards others, even as he lays bare the truths of his humanly angry or mean-spirited feelings. Educated as an electronic engineer with an emphasis on computers, Giannaris nevertheless has stayed with the family business, that of running a Greek restaurant, The Hellenic, located in proximity to the ferry that runs between the eastern end of Long Island's north fork and Connecticut. Relating to so many familiar and new customers on their way to or from the ferry forms the basis of many of the scenarios of the book, hence the title. Yet the heart of the matter is closer, with fellow workers, family, friends, the pressures of sixteen-hour, non-stop days, and with recreational experiences (boating, spear fishing, divin

Are You a Cidiot or Countrytard?

Though the phrase is too often used in literary circles, this first effort by George Giannaris is truly a âÂ?Â?must readâÂ? for anyone seeking pure entertainment or good-natured âÂ?Â?post-readâÂ? discussion. Insightful and poignant at times âÂ?Â" laugh out loud hilarious at others âÂ?Â" Mr. GiannarisâÂ?Â? gift to the reader is his ability to make us all look at life with a different perspective and newfound appreciation. Whether focusing his thoughtful point of view inward with total honesty and self-deprecation, or looking outward with the eye of a âÂ?Â?comedicâÂ? sociologist, his descriptive prose is both observant and enlightening. I, for one, am anxiously awaiting his next literary effort.

Extremely Entertaining

I read this book a few days ago and enjoyed every chapter of it. The stories, mostly independent of each other, have a common theme; how the Cross Sound Ferry impacted the business, it's location, and the funny stories that surround its history. The biker midgets are a classic and a must read!

Laugh Out Loud

If you are Greek, know someone Greek, or even if you know nothing about Greeks, you will get a real kick out of this book...Entertaining to say the least. Excellent, fast reading, and most of all REAL... I'd recommend it to everyone.. Young and "older". Believe me, you can relate to it. I'm buying several to give out as gifts. Nothing like a feel good gift.