Captain from Corfu: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Bad Ending
Review: For the most part I enjoyed the story of Nikos and Alexa's love affair, started aboard the cruise ship Pericles where Nikos is captain. The author does a fine job of defining the Greek's sense of honor and family as she relays the struggles Nikos endures as he goes about performing his duty on board ship and fulfilling his responsibilities as the not-home father of two sons. It seems life is nothing but duty and responsibility for Nikos who indulges in the occasional shipboard romance, but it is only when he meets 35 year old Alexa does he actually fall in love. Unfortunately, as the couple finds out, in spite of their efforts to be together as much as possible, the fruition of their love is not meant to be--in fact it is utterly impossible. We find Alexa following Nikos about like the doomed woman in "Back Street", always taking a back seat to the demands of Nikos' life. Nikos is equally tortured and one cannot help but ask throughout the various cruises that the couple shares how else could the affair end up with Nikos' need to be at sea his overriding passion in life?
The author's style is minimalist; she adequately conveys the angst of her creations. However, since common sense deems the entire situation fruitless, I think the author struggled to find an ending that would both finish the book satisfatorily and still be realistic. I found her use of the Cyprus crisis in the 70s timely, but not quite good enough; the story ends on a bad note, relaying both Alexa's and Nikos' final feelings in separate chapters.
I recommend instead "The Sailor's Wife" which although a completely different story relates the life of the Greek Island peasant so magnificently, the reader will overlook its rather inadequate ending also.

Rating:
Summary: Bad Ending
Review: For the most part I enjoyed the story of Nikos and Alexa's love affair, started aboard the cruise ship Pericles where Nikos is captain. The author does a fine job of defining the Greek's sense of honor and family as she relays the struggles Nikos endures as he goes about performing his duty on board ship and fulfilling his responsibilities as the not-home father of two sons. It seems life is nothing but duty and responsibility for Nikos who indulges in the occasional shipboard romance, but it is only when he meets 35 year old Alexa does he actually fall in love. Unfortunately, as the couple finds out, in spite of their efforts to be together as much as possible, the fruition of their love is not meant to be--in fact it is utterly impossible. We find Alexa following Nikos about like the doomed woman in "Back Street", always taking a back seat to the demands of Nikos' life. Nikos is equally tortured and one cannot help but ask throughout the various cruises that the couple shares how else could the affair end up with Nikos' need to be at sea his overriding passion in life?
The author's style is minimalist; she adequately conveys the angst of her creations. However, since common sense deems the entire situation fruitless, I think the author struggled to find an ending that would both finish the book satisfatorily and still be realistic. I found her use of the Cyprus crisis in the 70s timely, but not quite good enough; the story ends on a bad note, relaying both Alexa's and Nikos' final feelings in separate chapters.
I recommend instead "The Sailor's Wife" which although a completely different story relates the life of the Greek Island peasant so magnificently, the reader will overlook its rather inadequate ending also.

Rating:
Summary: An engaging, highly recommended love story
Review: Muriel Maddox's Captain From Corfu is an engaging, highly recommended love story in which two people from dramatically different backgrounds meet oneanother aboard a Greek cruise ship. A Greek captain estranged from his wife and sons meets a beautiful young widow in an emotional tale of passion, mixed feelings, and the deep blue ocean. Also highly recommended are Muriel Maddox's earlier novels, Llantarnam (0865341737) and Love And Betrayal (0865342490).