The Maze - Hardcover

Karnezis, Panos

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374204802 ISBN 13: 9780374204808

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004

Synopsis

In the summer of 1922, after a series of decisive defeats at the hands of the Turks, the Greek army is in retreat from Asia Minor. Thousands of soldiers sweep toward the Mediterranean coast, leaving behind their dead, their dreams of empire . . . and one lost brigade, wandering in the Anatolian desert under a seemingly inexpiable curse. As their leader slips further and further into morphine-dulled despair, with no hope of escape for his troops, morale crumbles among the officers. Communist leaflets appear mysteriously every morning in the camp. A rash of thefts goes unsolved. And each man's thoughts turn, more and more often, to a single unspeakable act committed by the brigade in a moment of desperation.

At first the men's luck seems to change when they stumble on a town-a Greek settlement untouched by the war, where the mayor and the schoolteacher are in fierce competition for the favors of the local courtesan, and a young, failed newspaper correspondent is drinking himself to death for lack of a story. But the brigade hasn't outrun its Furies; instead it brings them to this homely idyll, with fateful consequences for soldiers and citizens alike.

The New York Times Book Review calls Panos Karnezis's writing "spry and playful, sly and macabre," observing that it "brings to mind the young Eudora Welty, especially in the fun it has with Greek legend and myth, [while its] intersection of gritty quotidian detail with flights of fancy recalls Gabriel García Márquez." This first novel confirms Karnezis as one of Britain's most remarkable young authors.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"The bastard love child of 'M*A*S*H' and Shakespeare...Supple prose and perfectly tuned dialogue."--Philip Connors, Newsday

In the summer of 1922, the Greek army is in retreat from Asia Minor, leaving behind one lost brigade, wandering in the Anatolian desert under a seemingly inexpiable curse. There is the doomed army commander addicted to morphine; the chaplain who induces the commander to strike a bargain with God; the hooker with a heart of gold whom he wants to redeem; a foreign correspondent who can't file stories; a deserter lost and found, and a prize stallion bolted. A debut novel of ambition and charm, The Maze marks the emergence of a stunning young talent whom The New York Times has called "downright miraculous."

"Karnezis's storytelling talents know no limits...Using dark humor and revealing dialogue, Karnezis, like the best writers, shows not only the flaws of his characters but also other traits that inspire understanding and even compassion for them...Inventive and striking."--Nicholas Gage, The Washington Post

"Economy, well-crafted plots, intense quiddity, and resonance that emerges inevitably from the stuff of the story...The Maze succeeds because it imagines so exactingly the hope, struggle and eventual futility of its characters' lives [and] shows a truly talented writer finding his way into more expansive regions."--Sam Thompson, Times Literary Supplement

"Colorful cast [with] antic incidents and delicate shades of prose."--The New Yorker

"Accomplished...Karnezis dramatizes with remorseless clarity and dry humor."--The New York Times Book Review

Panos Karnezis, author of Little Infamies (Picador, 2004), was born in Greece, moved to England as an engineer, and was awarded an MA in Creative Writing by the University of f0 East Anglia.

About the Author:

Panos Karnezis was born in Greece in 1967. He moved to England in 1992 to study engineering, and was awarded an MA in Creative Writing by the University of East Anglia. His first book, Little Infamies, was published in 2002. He lives in Oxford.

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0374204802
• ISBN 13: 9780374204808
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 376