Stratis Myrivilis (1890–1969)

A novel, set in the form of the author's finding in a trunk mementoes of a certain Sgt. Kostoulas. He finds a packet of notebooks filled with the young man's brutally honest impressions of the First World War, written for his sweetheart back home. Sgt. Kostoulas had fought in the Greek Salonika Campaign, been killed and these are his belongings. These vignettes bring home the horror and squalor of war. Powerfully anti-war and very realistic. The author had fought in that war and these are basically his memories. The title is taken from the Greek Orthodox Service of "Lamentations" on Good Friday. It could also refer to the dugouts in the trenches the men had made for themselves as shelters.… (mere)

A novel on the horrors of the First World war, with a different perspective from the literature inspired by experiences on the Western Front.

The social, political and nationalistic undercurrents of Greece at the time combine with accounts of the dehumanising experience of trench warfare. The Macedonian Front is the setting, where Serbian, French and British forces were joined by those of the breakaway Venizilos Greek government on one side. On the opposing side were Bulgarian and German forces.

The core of the novel though, like the literature of the Western Front, is individual experience. In this case, it is that of Greek soldiers from the Venizelist island of Lesvos.… (mere)