Island of Ghosts and Dreams

Cosmos revisits WWII Greece, the setting of his 2020 debut, Once We Were Here, in his riveting latest. Maria, a 25-year-old married woman, comes across comatose British soldier William, a minor character in the earlier novel, who has washed up on the shore near her Crete village. She helps nurse him back to health and he returns to military duty. Soon afterward, her husband, Demetrious, part of the Greek resistance, returns home from a year of fighting the German occupiers. It’s not long before the armed conflict arrives at their doorstep, and William becomes an important ally to Crete’s resistance fighters and saves Demetrious’s life when he is caught by German soldiers. After a civilian massacre in her village, Maria joins the resistance, a role she never expected for herself. The author shines a light on the lesser-told story of Greece’s role in WWII, evoking the tremendous stamina and courage of its people and showing how their lives are changed under the constant threat of death. It’s a stirring drama. (Mar.)