The Art of War: A Novel

By Angela Panayotopulos

Twin siblings Kallypso and Gabriel grow up in the lush cradle of Mythaki, an idyllic Greek island wrought of Mediterranean sun and sea. Their innocence is shattered by the outbreak of a war which flings Gabriel to distant battlefields and shackles Kallypso to a deteriorating homefront as Italian soldiers apologetically invade their island.

Ravaged by the twisted specter of Hitler's ambition, Greece's seas run red with the blood of her children. Germany's occupation plunges Mythaki into a dystopia of chaos and brutality. Despite the darkness, human nature retaliates with unexpected kindnesses and forbidden love. Kallypso and Gabriel discover that people must sometimes make their own miracles.

War entwines the fates of a Nazi ridiculed for his conscience, an iconographer haunted by her artistry, an officer driven by his madness, and a rebel soldier fighting to return home. There are people who bring darkness. There are people who spread light.

This is their story.

. . .

*Chosen as one of The National Herald's Top Picks in 2017.*

"Lively and lovely in the telling." -Alan Cheuse, NPR's Voice of Books

"A mesmerizing tale, weaving ancient and 20th century pasts with the present. In the hellish night of war, the artist heroine and her Greek island community show how long-treasured traditions create a refuge from war's inhumanity, provide non-lethal weapons in the fight for survival, and offer hope to those suffering unimaginable loss. Deeply detailed scenes of life's dailyness-dark coffee at the kafenio, steaming spanakopita fresh from ovens, sticky summer figs, sonorous chants sung before icon-rich altars-recreate miracles at every turn." -Margaret Yocom, Ph.D., American Folklore Society

"Extraordinarily compelling ... a poignant, warm, amusing, and brutal portrait of history." -A. F. Stewart, author of Once Upon a Dark and Eerie

"Told in heart-wrenching detail ... beautiful and captivating." -Jeff Lindsey

"Written with the grace of a master storyteller..." -Todd Barselow, author of Oh Diyos in the Oberon

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1469906341
• ISBN13: 9781469906348
• Release Date: June 2012
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 8.0"