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My Last Lament
My Last Lament | James William Brown
18 posts | 9 read | 30 to read
A poignant and evocative novel of one Greek woman's story of her own--and her nation's--epic struggle in the aftermath of World War II. Aliki is one of the last of her kind, a lamenter who mourns and celebrates the passing of life. She is part of an evolving Greece, one moving steadily away from its rural traditions. To capture the fading folk art of lamenting, an American researcher asks Aliki to record her laments, but in response, Aliki sings her own story... It begins in a village in northeast Greece, where Aliki witnesses the occupying Nazi soldiers execute her father for stealing squash. Taken in by her friend Takis's mother, Aliki is joined by a Jewish refugee and her son, Stelios. When the village is torched and its people massacred, Aliki, Takis and Stelios are able to escape just as the war is ending. Fleeing across the chaotic landscape of a post-war Greece, the three become a makeshift family. They're bound by friendship and grief, but torn apart by betrayal, madness and heartbreak. Through Aliki's powerful voice, an unforgettable one that blends light and dark with wry humor, My Last Lament delivers a fitting eulogy to a way of life and provides a vivid portrait of a timeless Greek woman, whose story of love and loss is an eternal one.
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MrBook
My Last Lament | James William Brown
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#TBRtemptation post 6! I love this cover! This is the evocative story of one Greek woman's post-WWII story & her nation's struggle. Aliki is one of the last lamenters, & to capture the fading folk art, an American researcher asks to record her laments. She begins with Nazi soldiers executing her father. Their village is torched & massacred, but she escapes with her friends, Takis & Stelios. She relates the ravaged land. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

jpmcwisemorgan I need to finish but the half I have read is good. It's a different perspective on the war and the time period than we usually get, even if it's fiction. 7y
laurieluna Ooooh. Added to my 'to buy' 😍 7y
meggofrank Such a lovely cover! 7y
Cathythoughts Beautiful cover 7y
72 likes9 stack adds4 comments
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Redjewel_7734
My Last Lament | James William Brown
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Pickpick

This one is really good-so many layers. On the surface, it is a story of 3 young adults trying to figure out how to survive during WWII & its aftermath, about war, suffering, struggle, & petty jealousies. But under that is the story of stories repeating themselves, of how we often become shadows within our own stories.

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Redjewel_7734
My Last Lament | James William Brown
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There is a certain hopelessness in these lines that just strikes home as it seems so many of us are struggling to come together to make the world better, but we are thwarted & stymied as time & time again those in power pit us against one another for their own gain...we see this; we know this, but yet we continue to allow the pattern to repeat again & again.

minkyb It is mind-boggling. 8y
Redjewel_7734 @Minky I know, & this book captures it so well. I just can't stop thinking about it. 8y
58 likes2 comments
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Luvtoread
My Last Lament | James William Brown
Pickpick

Beautiful & thought-provoking historical fiction with characters you won‘t ever forget. I really loved this book.
My Last Lament takes us back to Greece during WWII & the years following. I will not soon forget this as the characters are so well done here, that their stories will stay with me. This book really surprised me & brought tears to my eyes, along with educating me about Greece‘s history. I received an eARC copy of the book via NetGalley.

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BritanyA
My Last Lament | James William Brown
Panpan

Meh- historical fiction accounting for Greece during WWII- great premise but wanted more laments and less details on everything else. ⭐⭐ #2017

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jpmcwisemorgan
My Last Lament | James William Brown

I received this through the #FirstToRead program and I need to hurry to get my review in before the publication date. I like to work under a deadline. 😉 I'm glad I was able to get this one because I haven't read much, fiction or nonfiction, related to WWII that's not about America, Britain, or Germany. A story from a different perspective is always welcome.

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Garabrandtreviews
My Last Lament | James William Brown
Pickpick

This is a gorgeously written story of Aliki, her villages' last lamentor. When asked by a scholar to record her laments for posterity and study, she instead begins to tell her own story of love, heartbreaking loss, hunger, resilience and determination. I loved her, and the other characters. I loved how they interacted with one another. For me, this was a five star book.

Cinfhen Great review 😊 8y
7 likes1 comment
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jlondon1963
My Last Lament | James William Brown
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Pickpick

Heartbreaking and a story that lingers in your system. Set during WWII and the unrest in Greece after the war.

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jlondon1963
My Last Lament | James William Brown
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The same can be said of dogs! 🐾🐕

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jlondon1963
My Last Lament | James William Brown
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Lidia
My Last Lament | James William Brown
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Pickpick

I finished this book a couple of days ago on #Firsttoread and I really enjoyed it even if it left me with a bittersweet feeling in the end. Just like it says in the blurb, it's a real Greek tragedy. The story is set on Greece and it's about an old woman who reflects on her life when she was just a girl during WWII and after the war, how it changed her life and shaped her country.

AlexMay @dear.rebecca 8y
dear.rebecca @AlexMay great idea! Will give this a go! Review sounds promising @Lidia thank you :) 8y
28 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Lidia
My Last Lament | James William Brown
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So like many of you today I also had to look up the word #Bildungsroman to find out what it was. And it turns out my#currentread is precisely that. A coming of age story of a girl in Greece at the end of WWII and how she has to adapt to survive and build a new life amongst the ruins of her country. #feistyfeb

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Lidia
My Last Lament | James William Brown
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I'm so excited to be reading my first #ARC now. Before Litsy I didn't even now what an ARC was ☺️. #blameitonlitsy

Cosyreader I only found out last week what it was! Litsy has taught me a lot 8y
24 likes1 comment
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BethFishReads
My Last Lament | James William Brown
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(1) in light of the current political situation, it's never wrong to read about another time when the world was in crisis. (2) I know very little about Greece during World War II. This looks powerful and important. From @BerkleyPub

kerry I just finished this. I had no idea what had happened in Greece post-war, so it was really eyeopening. Hope you enjoy! 8y
BethFishReads @kerry I expect to learn a lot 8y
DebinHawaii I love reading WWII books with different perspectives. Always very interesting! 👍 8y
60 likes10 stack adds4 comments
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kerry
My Last Lament | James William Brown
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the dog couldn't be more snuggled in short of crawling inside my pajamas (also I am starting this book next, anyone heard of it?)

AshleyHoss820 I haven't heard of this but that cover is legit eye candy! 8y
[DELETED] 2111265813 Yes! I got approved via #Netgalley for this one last year. Just cracked it yesterday. (edited) 8y
28 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Rachael_reads
My Last Lament | James William Brown
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#ARC #bookmail
I'm looking forward to reading this!!

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