Reviews:
".... A perfect literary offer. The book has
a fascinating plot, vivid characters and the magic of
Greek nature... The writing is plain, fast-paced and brilliant.
Excellent language, completeness of meaning."
I.G. Theoharis, PROINOS LOGOS newspaper, Ioannina, July
12, 1994
"... Τhe secret of a good novel is to divert the reader from external reality and make him a “citizen” of its own reality, a participant in other situations and events. It is this illusion that creates pleasure. While reading Petrovits’s new novel, I had this feeling of participation. In this novel, the reader soon becomes friendly with a group of children, spending their summer at the beautiful village Trapeza, with captain Diocles, who is looking for something miraculous, but especially with young Penelope and young Ares. Through them, and under the pretext of searching for the black coral called “yousouri”, essential problems concerning puberty, love and death come forward. The story about “yousouri” is the body of the narrative and everything else around stands in balance. According to the (Greek) tradition, the black coral “yousouri” is a sea tree, but when sponge-fishers approach it, the sea tree becomes alive. In this novel, the “yousouri” acquires other dimensions: it becomes a dream, a life-aim, a way of thinking. Yet, this does not prevent young people to see and face crucial puberty problems. It is a book worth reading not only for its theme, but also for the way it is written, the way the story is narrated."
V.D. Anagnostopoulos, Professor of Thessaly University
DIADROMES magazine, Autumn 1994, no 35
"... A book of inner exploration, psychological
view, and approaches not vociferous but inventively
revealing, stimulating the reader's interest up to the
end."
I.D. Ioannidis, Patras, October 22, 1994
"... The author, among the first names or our
contemporary Children's Literature, give us now a novel
having as main qualities its structure and its multi-faceted
characters. One more step forward of an author whose
every new book wins her our admiration."
SYNCHRONO SCHOLIO magazine, no 24 November-December
1994
"... Τhe black coral “yousouri” is a miraculous sea tree, as people say. Here, the magic black coral becomes the symbol of love and death, in moments of the life of a group of children, who meet each other and get acquainted with the inhabitants of a seaside area. The beauty of the Greek nature and especially the seashore become the canvass hosting a variety of narrative means and a fast-paced rhythm. These elements, as form achievements of the author, mark an interesting, developing story, where suspense, tension, the unexpected and the imaginary are signalling some essential ingredients, such as problems between children and their parents, friendship, the first love, as well as love affairs that failed to take their course."
Giannis Papadatos
Critic, Lecturer, University of Aegean
DIAVAZO magazine, No 349, February 1995 |
