Ioanna Karystiani was born on the island of Crete, Greece, in the town of Chania and now lives in Athens. Her literary debut came with the collection of short stories, I kyria Kataki (Ms. Kataki). She has since written three novels, all of which have been translated into several languages. She wrote the screenplay for The Brides, directed by Pandelis Vulgaris and produced by Martin Scorsese, and Estrella mi vida, directed by Costa Gavras. She received the Greek state prize for literature and the Athenian Academy prize for her first novel, and the Diavaso literature prize for her second.
Greece
Ioanna Karystiani
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If you mixed Lionel Shriver’s chilling WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN with a Joycean stream of consciousness from a female Ulysses in contemporary Athens, you’d be approaching the spirit of Ioanna Karystiani’s BACK TO DELPHI. Viv is the mother of a notorious rapist and...— Apr 20 2013![]()
The affairs of families are often mysterious to outsiders, and sometimes they appear opaque to family members themselves. Often there's miscommunication, long-held secrets, omission of events, and, as time goes on, further distortion of what happened due to the falseness...— Mar 31 2013![]()
Dimitrios Avgoustis, now seventy-five, has been a seaman in the Greek merchant marine for 58 years, a captain for much of that time, well respected by his crew. He is less respected by his family, however, especially by his less than steadfast wife Flora, an embittered, angry...— Feb 26 2010![]()
Forced to retire, an old sea captain reviews his life and loves. Mitsos Avgoustis, 75, has been a captain in the mercantile marine for 58 years. He’s losing his eyesight, and corporate powers are eager to replace him with someone younger and more predictable. Mitsos, however,...— Dec 14 2009![]()
Novelist and screenwriter Karystiani (The Jasmine Isle) won the 2007 National Book Award for best Greek novel with this book, centered around a secretly blind sea captain “in his damned dotage,” Mitsos Avgoustis. Karystiani celebrates Mitsos's epic 58-year devotion to the...— Nov 25 2009
Greece
