This book is a well researched, emotional read which examines the Greek Civil War and its far reaching effects on the families torn apart by events.
When Fontini is mistaken for a Communist sympathiser during the Civil War she is snatched from her mountain village and locked up in prison camps along with her baby son, Mitsos. Her young daughter runs to hide and the last view of her mother is of her being carried away by right wing soldiers in a prison van.
Left to fend for herself Iliana is eventually picked up by the Communists and sent to a children’s home in Yugoslavia.
Meanwhile Fontini befriends a woman in the prison camps and and vows to look after her son Nikos, when this friend, Markella, escapes. However Nikos is deliberately separated from Fontini and ends up in a right wing orphanage.
This story really gripped me from the very first page, I was horrified at the treatment of the women who had done nothing wrong but who were locked up and the forced separation from their children instigated by both sides of the conflict was heartbreaking. The fact that it was true was awful- many families had been torn apart and children snatched from their mothers. Fontini’s search for Iliana and Nikos after her release was heartbreaking.
Victoria Hislop’s books are always compelling reads with wonderful characters and I think The Wine-Dark Sea was one of her best. I was hoping against hope that the families would be reunited with their children but the odds against this outcome were huge as they ended up living in different countries.
However both Nikos and Iliana still retained their Greek heritage and an irresistible pull to try and find their roots in Greece.
I highly recommend this book- I learned a lot about the terrible history of the country in the twentieth century particularly during the civil war but I was also able to admire the resilience of the human spirit.
This is definitely a five star read for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.