Lost Edens

by Harry A. Mavromatis

The book's twenty essays describe what it was like growing up as an outsider in Cyprus during the difficult years of the EOKA uprising against British colonial rule. Born in the US, Harry A. Mavromatis moved to Cyprus with his parents and spent his adolescence on the island. LOST EDENS provides informative, insightful biographies of several of the island's important personalities, including Archbishop Makarios, as well as of some of the less prominent people the author met and interacted with while there. The volume concludes with perceptive comments about the causes of the Cyprus conflict and the author's hopes for the future.

194 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2011

About the author

Harry A. Mavromatis was born in the US, and obtained his PhD in theoretical nuclear physics from Princeton University...

He worked at the University of Sussex in the U.K, the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, the University of Tübingen in Germany, the University of Michigan in the US, the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia, at NASA, etc.
Dr. Mavromatis first went to Cyprus with his parents when he was 10, and spent his adolescent years growing up on the island. He has published four books and over 100 articles in refereed physics journals, and was recently appointed Emeritus Professor at the American University of Beirut. During his free time he writes short essays and poetry.

Reviews

[Dlmrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Line · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book through Goodreads First-reads.

Prior to reading this book I knew nothing of Cyprus or it's history so I was very excited and eager to learn something new.
The essays in the book was a lot different than I expected. They were all very well written and contained a great deal of historical information which i enjoyed very much because of my lack of knowlegde on the subject. Though i did however miss some more feeling in the essays. My favorite was "The Letter" where Harry Mavromatis writes as his paternal grandparrents. And though this particular essay is a lot more fiction than the others, this was also the one that touched me the most.
In general I was both surprised and impressed with the essays and i would recomend this book to all with just a slight historical interest. It is both interesting, exciting and touching.

[Armida Publications · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are two things I especially enjoyed about these essays. Firstly, they paint the picture of what life was like in Cyprus, during the 50s-70s. But the author does not only recall his personal experiences whilst growing up during those troubled times. Furthermore, the memoir provides the reader with astounding information about Cyprus' history and takes him on a colorful journey through the past of this enchanting Mediterranean island. Harry A. Mavromatis' narrations include stylistically elaborated descriptions of ordinary people to whom he was close, and of political personae he met.
The book combines the best of literary, political and historical essay writing!

[Miriam Pirolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very nice memoir about the author's life in Cyprus. Harry A. Mavromatis came to the island as a child and experienced the turbulent years of the EOKA uprising. Reading these beautiful essays, I learned a lot about Cyprus' history and life on this enchanting Mediterranean island.
Anybody who enjoys literary, political and/or historical essay writing will definitely love this book!