The Sunrise

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Helena’s desire to find answers about her heritage dovetails with a growing curiosity for archaeology, ignited by a summer spent with volunteers on a dig on an Aegean island. Their finds fuel her determination to protect the precious fragments recovered from the baked earth – and to understand the origins of her grandfather’s collection. Hislop προσπαθεί μέσα από το βιβλίο της αυτό να κρατήσει μια ουδέτερη στάση όσον αφορά το καυτό θέμα της Κύπρου και της εισβολής των Τούρκων σε αυτή. Και ναι, δέχομαι πως πρόκειται για μυθιστόρημα και όχι για ιστορικό δοκίμιο, αλλά κάποια θέματα είναι πολύ νωπά και πολύ ευαίσθητα για να τα αγγίζουμε με τρόπους που δεν ανταποκρίνονται απόλυτα στην αλήθεια. Καταλαβαίνω την ανθρώπινη ανάγκη της να μοιράσει τις ευθύνες, όμως αυτό δεν είναι πάντα δυνατόν και το σημαντικότερο όλων, δεν είναι πάντα σωστό. Παράλληλα, η συγγραφέας, χρησιμοποιεί πάρα πολύ έντονα το στοιχείο των συμπτώσεων, σε βαθμό που αυτές χάνουν την ρεαλιστικότητά τους και το κείμενο συνολικά, την αξιοπιστία του. Ακόμα και η βία είναι συγκαλυμμένη ενώ θα μπορούσε να την διαχειριστεί με τρόπο πιο ωμό, εφόσον στο σκέλος του διαχειρισμού της έννοιας της αγάπης δεν τα καταφέρνει και τόσο καλά. Of course the writing hasn't the depth I expect from a novelist who wrote many books, but the story was interesting, heartrending, kept me going so it wasn't entirely bad and it didn't ruin my experience.

She is also looking forward to meeting and talking to fans. “I am hoping there could be a few people come along who will remember the 70s because that was their time and perhaps be able to share some living memories. “The question and answer bit is nice, it’s dynamic, I love to hear from readers and I love them to ask questions. I enjoy that interaction. I like to listen to other people. I’d love to hear from anyone there who has lived in Cyprus, especially during the period in question. Anyone who has memories of the events, that would be really exciting for me.” For me, the stars of the story were not the Papacostas or the greedy and resentful Markos but those characters who initially played a small part in the story. Following the invasion, the lives of two families were at the fore – the Özkans and the Georgious, one family being Greek Cypriots and the other Turkish Cypriots, but both connected in some way with The Sunrise hotel and it was these characters that I enjoyed reading about the most, in particular, a young worker called Hűseyin and his mother, hotel hairdresser Emine Özkan. Both families had their own fight for survival amidst the continuing bloodshed in the aftermath of the invasion. Hislop's writing effectively weaves the personal into the political without ever becoming overbearing. An informative but equally emotional read." - Woman Vibrant… Hislop brings history to life in this compelling tale’ ( Tatler)Hislop brings her consummate storytelling skills to this enthralling tale of love, marriage and a community all put to the test ( Woman & Home) The plastic and barbed wire that has been wrapped around this city is more clearly visible here. I walked right next to it to take these pictures of some derelict hotels. It’s not hard to imagine what an idyllic place this must have been to stay – hotel residents could step from the foyer directly onto the sand. And with soft sand such as this, it must have seemed like paradise. The beach faces due east so they would have woken to the most spectacular sunrise each day visible from those windows. This was what inspired me to call my imaginary hotel (which also gives the novel its name) ‘The Sunrise’.Leprosy has always had a stigma attached to it as a disease. There are the awful deformities if it’s left untreated, the physical appearance of people who’ve lost limbs and it’s a condition thought of as having largely gone away – but it still is prevalent today in some parts of the world.” Moving and, at times, nail-biting...Book groups who enjoyed... The Kite Runner and Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale will dig into this novel in which politics trumps privilege but not family." - Booklist In 1974 everything comes to a head. The island is divided and the tourists flee. Greek and Turk Cypriots are once again at war, the violence escalates, the streets are dangerous, the hotels lie empty except for the mice and the rats.

The Greek Cypriots who had fled from Varosha were not allowed to return, and journalists are banned. It has been frozen in time with houses, department stores and hotels empty and looted, even tiles on bathroom walls. “This piece of history is still there, just living like this. “There is still a ghost town there in Cyprus. I found it so extraordinary. When a Greek coup plunges the island into chaos, Cyprus faces a disastrous conflict. Turkey invades to protect the Turkish Cypriot minority, and Famagusta is shelled. Forty thousand people seize their most precious possessions and flee from the advancing soldiers. In the deserted city, just two families remain. This is their story. I took this photo from the office of the Turkish mayor of Famagusta. In the picture, we see some of the older buildings of the city, including one of the original hotels of the city, The Savoy. It’s clear here how nature has taken over, with weeds growing up into the middle of the streets and a general state of dilapidation. And the picture also gives an idea of the scale of the city. The other main character is Markos Georgiou. He is the manager of the night club at The Sunrise and becomes so indispensable to Savvas that he becomes his right hand man. However Markos feels much resentment towards his employers. They have so much and take him for granted.But beneath the city’s facade of glamour and success, tension is building. When a Greek coup plunges the island into chaos, Cyprus faces a disastrous conflict. Turkey invades to protect the Turkish Cypriot minority and Famagusta is shelled. Forty thousand people seize their most precious possessions and flee from the advancing soldiers.

Heartbreaking... A fascinating insight into a part of Mediterranean history that isn't often explored." - Essentials (UK)The story of conflict and its consequences of course has great relevance today, with the current troubles in Gaza, Iraq and Ukraine. Hislop captures well the dreamy and Edenic time before the occupation as well as the fear and chaos afterward. years ago, the Cypriot town of Famagusta was occupied by Turkish forces. Today it’s capturing media attention once again, as the subject of Victoria Hislop’s new novel, “The Sunrise,” which will be released in Greece on October 22. Forty years on, lawyer Maria Hadjivasili, who escaped with her family, revisits her home town with author Victoria Hislop Victoria Hislop describes life in this haven so well, bringing to life the guests, the hotel workers and the hustle and bustle of fabulous Famagusta.

Sometimes poignant but never upsetting, this book highlights the strength of love, friendship and resilience over adversity. Complemented wonderfully by Gill Smith’s beautiful illustrations, this is an ideal book for older early readers who are ready explore more complex themes associated such as coping with adversity and having respect for others who may be different from themselves. Ian is much more intellectual than I am. At university, he used to lend people his essays so they could copy them. He should have rented them out at 50p a go because it would have paid his bar bill.Famagusta not only offered daytime recreation, but also a nightlife that was second to none in the Mediterranean. It had many fine restaurants and nightclubs where visitors and locals enjoyed live music. The rich and famous went to Famagusta, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, for example, as well as other international stars. Mail on Sunday, October 12 by Victoria Hislop For “You” Maria Hadjivasili: “What happened in 1974 totally altered the course of my family’s life” Famagusta was once a thriving city of forty thousand people. In 1974 its entire population fled when Cyprus was invaded by Turkey. Forty years on, Varosha, as the modern city is known, remains empty, sealed off behind the barbed wire put up by the Turkish army. It is a ghost town”. Caught up in this conflict are two families from either side, and central to the story is an unlikely love affair, an affair that has repercussions for these two families for many years.