About the Book:
Katerina longs to know why her late grandmother, Miriam, refused to talk about the past, especially when she inherits a journal and handwritten letters stashed in a wooden spice box, cryptic treasures written in Armenian, Miriam’s mother tongue. On vacation in Cyprus, Katerina finds the key to unlocking her grandmother’s secrets and discovers a family legacy of exile and loss. Aged seven, Miriam was expelled from her home in Eastern Turkey and witnessed the death of her beloved brother Gabriel, or so she believed.
Katerina sets out on a fact-finding mission across the island and solves a mystery that changes her life and lays the ghosts of her grandmother’s turbulent past to rest. My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Sarah's Key in this gripping family saga, set during the tragic start of the Armenian genocide in 1915 Turkey, spanning the ups and downs of a family separated by the devastating aftermath in 1985 Greece.
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About the Author:
EVE MAKIS studied at Leicester University and worked as a journalist and radio presenter in the UK and Cyprus before becoming a novelist. Eve is a part time tutor in creative writing at Nottingham University. She is married with two children and lives in the UK and Cyprus.
Praise for The Spice Box Letters:
"Reading The Spice Box Letters is like sitting down to a delicious Armenian dinner hosted by an ebullient family with a riveting and sorrowful tale to tell. Makis' story goes to some dark places, but her warmth and light touch keeps this engaging novel aloft. You will come away impressed by the resilience of her wonderful characters—and craving Armenian delicacies. (I devoured a chunk of halva while reading this book.) I deeply enjoyed this novel." —Sharon Guskin, author of The Forgetting Time
"With humor, heartbreak and lyrical prose, Eve Makis has woven a moving tale of resilience in the face of tragedy. I thoroughly enjoyedThe Spice Box Letters." —Maggie Leffler, author of The Secrets of Flight
"The Spice Box Letters is a beautifully evocative novel that moves from past to present and affirms the enduring love of family and explores the tragic, unsettling wake of the Armenian genocide. Eve Makis has written a novel that should be read, contemplated, and read again." —Peter Golden, author of Wherever There Is Light
"Heartwarming, funny, tragic, and uplifting...the story has a feel good factor to equal My Big Fat Greek Wedding." —Narinder Dhami, author ofBend It Like Beckham
"Fans of Victoria Hislop's prose or Khaled Hosseini's storytelling will love The Spice Box Letters, for Eve Makis's latest novel is remarkable. It deserves to be an international bestseller and I have no doubt it will pick up an award or three. Beautifully written with inventive structure, compelling characters, historical horrors, and natural humor, it's a rich feast."— Notts Lit (UK)
"I would advise buying a packet of tissues before you start reading this extraordinary novel which depicts the human cost of war. The novel is peppered with vividly evoked scenes of the physical, emotional, and mental trauma that many Armenian families went through during the massacre of their people in WWI." —Pamreader
"Makis has done her research, and the historical details of 100 years ago ring true, as do finely drawn characters like Katerina's great uncle, the cantankerous, memorable Gabriel. Add some mouth-watering descriptions of food and you have a warm, affecting tale to savor."— LeftLion Magazine (UK)
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