The masterful historical narrative of the incomparable Alexander Papadiamantis, in which the iconic author reconstructs the Greece of the Ottoman Empire, now in the modern Greek language.
The Turk Katis of Arta, misinterpreting the sayings of the Koran, exonerates his dear friend when he kidnaps a young Christian girl who happens to be the baptismal daughter of Christos Milionis, the armatolo. This is the occasion from which Alexandros Papadiamantis begins to unravel his narrative myth, connecting three different aspects of the development of events: the suffering of the family's persecution, the psychological pressure the girl undergoes during her confinement in the harem, and the angry reaction of the charioteer dictated by his duty as her spiritual father.
In the setting of the plot parade all the characters of the people of the time from both sides: terrified creatures, indignant rascals, surrenderers and heroes until their final fall on the one hand; authoritarian conquerors, moderate officials and traitors of fraternal friendship on the other. Papadiamantis describes a conflict of people, but the fateful conflict of values is highlighted more through the characters of the short story. Dominant is the heroic physiognomy of Christos Milionis, who, even when he is not present in the action, his point of view is present.
With the completion of the short story and the tragic end of the hero, the reader realizes the masterful ratio of the epic and the lyrical element, the unbreakable coherence of historical events and fiction, having formed a clear picture of the pre-revolutionary conditions in Turkish-ruled Greece.
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