The Summer of My Greek Taverna
A Memoir
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Tom Stone went to Greece one summer to write a novel -- and stayed twenty-two years. On Patmos, the tiny island where St. John received the apocalyptic visions recorded in the Book of Revelations, he fell in love with Danielle, a beautiful French painter. His novel completed and sold, he decided to stay a little longer.
Seven idyllic years later, after the birth of their second child, they left Patmos for Crete, where Stone taught English to civil servants and Danielle painted icons for tourists. But Stone's heart was still on Patmos, and when a Patmian friend, Theológos, called and offered him a summer partnership in his beach tavérna, The Beautiful Helen, Stone jumped at the chance -- much to the dismay of his wife, who cautioned him not to forget the old adage about Greeks bearing gifts.
Back on Patmos, Stone quickly discovered that he was no longer a friend or a patron but a competitor. He learned hard lessons about the Greeks' skill at bargaining, and about how truly effective the curse of the Evil Eye can be. There was no longer time to leisurely sip Greek coffee in the morning or linger over oregano-scented lunches with friends. The tavérna closed for the tourists at 3 A.M. and opened for the fishermen at 7; work sometimes seemed little more than a battle to stay awake. Spurring him on were the enormous profits that Theológos had assured him would materialize in August. And there were still the many joys of being back in Patmos: the beauty of the island, the friendships he had made over the years, and the adrenaline rush of success as news began to spread about Stone's cooking; yachts sailed over from Mykonos for dinner. But then came August, and the realization that Theológos had been cheating him out of thousands of dollars. His illusions shattered, Stone turned to his wife and children, who had been there all the time, offering their support. And their love.
Featuring Stone's recipes, including his variation on the traditional Greek tzatzíki, his own Chicken Retsina, and the ultimate moussaka, The Summer of My Greek Tavérna is as much a love story as it is the grand, humorous, and sometimes bittersweet adventure of an American pursuing his dreams in a foreign land, a modern-day innocent abroad.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this feast for all senses, Stone brings readers into the tiny Greek island world of Patmos in a prose that feels as languid as the pace of the Patmian people. At 33, Stone, a Broadway stage manager, puts $10,000 of an inheritance in the stock market and leaves New York for what he intends to be a five-month stay in Greece, where he would fulfill his dream of writing a novel. But five months quickly turns into love, marriage, two children and several years when he meets Danielle, a 23-year-old French painter. After moving to Rethymnon, Stone teaches English as a second language while Danielle continues to paint until an old Patmian friend, Theol gos, phones and invites Stone to become his partner for the summer in his beach taverna, The Beautiful Helen. Leaping at the opportunity, Stone, and a very reluctant Danielle, pack up their two children, a Cuisinart and Stone's many recipes, and return to the island where they fell in love and where they would soon learn the hard lessons that come with Greek traditions, bargaining, the ever-present Evil Eye, and their na ve trust in Theol gos, known to all as O Lad s, "the oily one." This nicely told memoir and travelogue is interspersed with Stone's recipes, sensual descriptions of food and place, and the love of his wife and children.