Cartes Postales from Greece (by Victoria Hislop)

(Amazon UK link)

I didn’t have any idea what to expect when I bought a couple of Victoria Hislop novels from a church book stall nearly three years ago. One or two friends had recommended this author, but although the covers looked appealing and the blurb sounded interesting, they seemed like rather long books to tackle, when I wasn’t sure I would like them. Which is perhaps why it’s taken this long to decide to read them. 

I finished ‘The Island’ a couple of months ago, and liked it very much indeed, so last week I embarked on ‘Cartes Postales from Greece’. As with ‘The Island’ it starts by introducing a young woman. We meet Ellie, who lives on her own in a somewhat dingy flat. She is the recipient of a regular stream of postcards from different locations in Greece - but they’re not addressed to her. They’re to someone unknown - an S Ibbotson, and give no indication of who sent them, other than an ‘A’ at the end. 

Ellie is intrigued by the notes, describing places, giving insights into them, but with a poignant message at the end, wishing that ‘S’ was with the writer. Since Ellie has no way of finding out who ‘S’ might be, she pins the cards up, and they brighten her little flat. So much so that when the cards stop arriving for several weeks, she decides to take a break in Greece and see some of the places for herself. 

As she’s about to leave, she finds a parcel, addressed to the same person, containing a handwritten travel journal by the same person, giving a lot more detail about his travels. 

And there we leave Ellie, moving instead to the substance of the journal which she reads as she starts to discover Greece for herself. And the journal is punctuated by stories, mostly with black-and-white photos to illustrate, as told to ‘A’ by different people he meets.

It’s quite a clever device for what is, essentially, a book of cultural short stories - or anecdotes - which give a flavour of different customs, traditions, and beliefs popular in Greece. I gather all the stories are fictional, although based on what Victoria Hislop encountered on her own travels.  Some of them are rather unpleasant, some are bizarre, and yet all are very readable. The author’s style is good, and she paints pictures of different communities in Greece which feel very believable.  

Eventually the story does return to Ellie, as she comes to the end of the journal. I liked the way the story comes full circle, and it’s a positive ending, if a tad contrived. And yet although I found the book interesting and easy to read, it doesn’t feel like a novel; it’s more of an informal travelogue.  

On the whole I liked it, but it’s not the kind of book I’m likely to read again. If you’re interested in Greece and some of the cultures and customs of the many small communities there, it’s an interesting book to peruse; but there wasn’t really anything in it to grip me. I like to relate to characters in books, and while I could, somewhat, relate to Ellie her part in the book is too small to have any real empathy. 

Review copyright 2023 Sue's Book Reviews