Books and Good Reading
Title: An Affair of the Heart.  Author: Dilys Powell.

Publisher: Efstatiadis Group; Athens. 1983. 
ISBN 960 226 049 1

Dilys Powell lived in Greece before WWII and had a deep devotion to the country. In this book she describes  three visits to the country - 1945; 1953 and 1954. 


Title:
An Affair of the Heart.  Author: Dilys Powell.
Publisher: Souvenir Press; London. ISBN 0 285 63497 6


An Affair of the Heart.
The Review.

Dilys Powell's book, written more than 40 years ago and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1957, is a classic.  It relates Powell's experiences of Greece and the Greek psyche from as long ago as 1930-33 when her husband, Humphrey Payne, led an archeological dig in Heraion of Perachora, an area of mainland Greece north of the Corinth Canal.  His dig brought distinction to the expedition, finding evidence of a well-to-do Greek town with a temple; roads, market place and water supplies, with many many valuable artifacts from as long ago as the 8th Century BC.

However, for me the book is not about Heraion, but about her beautifully written experiences with the people of Greece at the time, particularly those from the almost isolated village of Perachora, six miles from the dig - who traveled to and from the dig largely on foot.  How she saw them as uncorrupted peasants; owners of a few pines; a stony field; a terrace of struggling vines.  Describing how they laboured nine hours a day; digging; hacking; sifting; carting.  Making new finds every day and seeing a new "golden world" opening up before them.  Dilys Powell's description of being in Greece and living among Greeks, away from the tourist hotspots and no doubt lacking the modern accoutrements such as spray on mosquito repellent and mobile phones is, in my opinion, unbeatable and unrepeatable.  The occasional repetition of Greek Grammar  "Here I was.." rather than "I was here", and "thee's" and "thou's" which modern readers may find a little alien is part of the book.  Try hard if you find the book difficult, it will bring a real enlightenment to the uninitiated about life in Greece.  There are still mountain villages; life in some of them has not yet reached the 21st Century... It is still, in some places, simple; uncluttered; and hard.

This book is a gem!
W.B.

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