Aphrodite and the Others

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Summary: The oral tradition; a Greek village woman's life.
Review: In her carefully crafted, thoughtful prose, Gillian Bouras presents us with two worlds: that of the illiterate village woman living in the oral tradition and that of her literate daughter-in-law who comes from outside the tight boundaries and set expectations of Greek village life. Yet while describing the different perceptions of each woman for the other, with sensitivity and humour, the author draws parallels between their lives and shares intriguing insights into the "received life" of village women in the Peloponnese which helped open her eyes to the "received life" she lived before being thrust into a new cultural milieu. This is just one of four fascinating books by the author, all currently in print and published by Penguin Australia. The others: A Foreign Wife, A Fair Exchange and A Stranger Here. Angela Kiossoglou Adams