The Ghosts of Smyrna

Aya Katerina, a neighbourhood in Ottoman Smyrna at the end of World War I. Through the eyes of Niko "the Orphan"—his Armenian father was taken away by the soldiers—we see this close world going about its traditional ways. But dark clouds loom in the near distance. We meet Elena, Niko’s aunt and talented artist; his idiosyncratic uncle Polycarp, wiser than he pretends; Manolis the Greek doctor who loves her; Nazım the Turkish journalist who also loves her; Niko’s grandmother who holds the family together; and an assortment of neighbours of all backgrounds. As the War draws to a close, all these people await their fates as the Greek armies invade from the west and are fought back by the forces of Ataturk from the east. A story of love under impossible circumstances and a novel about growing up, this is also an account about a people, a neighbourhood, and a legendary city caught up by forces beyond their control. Aya Katerina goes up in smoke. Quiet and understated, colourful and intensely moving, this is a memorial to a charmed city now lost.

"An absorbing read. The Ghosts of Smyrna is a wonderful foray into cultural history, a masterful interweaving of large-scale political events and the minute particulars of daily life."
—Morris Berman, author of Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire