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Lakis Polycarpou

Goodreads Author

Born

in Nicosia, Cyprus

Website

http://lakispolycarpou.com/

Twitter

lakispolycarpou

Genre

Historical Fiction, Fiction

Member Since

April 2015

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/lakispolycarpou

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Lakis Polycarpou's novel, August in the Vanishing City, is the first of a planned three-book series that chronicles the stories of ordinary people confronted with extraordinary situations over a half-century on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

As a journalist and non-fiction writer, Lakis’ work has addressed the intersection of ecology, economy, culture, technology and resource scarcity among other subjects. In May of 1999, his Washington Post essay about the tragic killings at Columbine High School (where he graduated) was quoted worldwide in discussions of suburban alienation, and led to a life-long passion for understanding the role of architecture, design and the built environment on the human psyche. He has written extensively about ...more

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What are you currently working on?

Lakis Polycarpou I'm currently working on my second novel, Book 2 of the Cyprus Chronicles. Book 1, August in the Vanishing City, a young soldier decides to return to …moreI'm currently working on my second novel, Book 2 of the Cyprus Chronicles. Book 1, August in the Vanishing City, a young soldier decides to return to the abandoned city of Varosha to recover a keepsake that will help him win the heart of his childhood love Joanna—and to prove to himself that there are still principles worth fighting for.

In Book 2, I take the story back, to the 1950s, when a group of rebels starts an audacious campaign against British colonial rule. (less)

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Lakis Polycarpou In 2003, when the border between the Turkish and Greek sides of Cyprus was opened, I traveled with my father to northern Cyprus for the first time. On…moreIn 2003, when the border between the Turkish and Greek sides of Cyprus was opened, I traveled with my father to northern Cyprus for the first time. One of the places we saw was Famagusta, the ancient port of Cyprus, and next to it, the once glamorous suburb Varosha--now surrounded by barbed-wire and cyclone fencing, the largest ghost-town in the world, off limits to any visitor.

I was haunted by the scores of abandoned homes and businesses we saw through the fence, and what they represented; I thought about all the lives that had been upended after the 1974 invasion, and I wondered what would happen if someone tried to return.

I had already been working on a longer project about the lives of ordinary Cypriots who lived through an extraordinary times, and this story fit into that series.

I set the book in the mid-1990s, when tensions on the island were perhaps at their height, and have tried to capture both the bitterness felt at an unjust situation and resilient spirit of the Cypriot people.

I'm looking forward to books two and three that will go deeper into the story. (less)

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Lakis Polycarpou’s books

Average rating: 4.5 · 20 ratings · 10 reviews · 1 distinct work

August in the Vanishing City

4.50 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions

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Lakis Polycarpou's Blog

Cyprus: War or Reconcilliation? Notes from 1996

August in the Vanishing City, Book 1 of my trilogy, The Cyprus Chronicles,takes place on the island of Cyprus in the mid 1990s. While the book is fiction, it’s setting and context is based on extensive reporting I did about “The Cyprus Problem” in the 1990s — in particular a long piece of narrative journalism that I wrote about the events of 1996.

The piece was later submitted as my journalism m

Lakis is Currently Reading

Lakis Polycarpou is currently reading

Tropic of Kansas

by Christopher Brown (Goodreads Author)

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Jan 18, 2019 11:39AM

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Lakis Polycarpou rated a book it was amazing Secret War (Starfighter Club #1) by Michael Lucas (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
An action-packed space opera set on present-day Earth, with well-rounded and believable characters whose all-too-human problems and messy desires threaten to get in the way of saving the world. Devin’s love for/obsession with Becca is relatable. He i ...more
Jan 17, 2026 07:04AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Secret War by Michael Lucas. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Secret War by Michael Lucas <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Lakis Polycarpou is now following Michael Lucas Author of Secret War (Starfighter Club #1)
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Lakis’s Quotes

“If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to, no one with which to share the beauty of the stars, to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life? It is other life; it is love, which gives your life meaning. This is harmony. We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth.”
― Mitsugi Saotome

tags: life, purpose, someone, talk

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“A day spent without the sight or sound of beauty, the contemplation of mystery, or the search of truth is a poverty-stricken day; and a succession of such days is fatal to human life.”
― Lewis Mumford

92 likes