The Birth of Aphrodite

by Ian Moffitt

It is 1920 and two babies come into the world in very different circumstances: Grace born of a violent union, but destined for a golden future, and Mike, a country boy with a talent for boxing, whose determination to succeed on his own terms brings him into conflict when he starts to make a name for himself.

The Birth of Aphrodite is a panoramic novel based on the love myth of Aphrodite and Adonis. The story, spanning several decades, moves from the New York underworld to Hollywood. A story of love and family, particularly the struggle for family love.

287 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 9, 2012

About the author

Born in Sydney and raised in Taree, Ian Moffitt was a journalist for The Australain, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Mirror and The Bulletin. He wrote about his time as a journalist in the book, DEAD LINES, published in 1985.

During the Chinese Civil War he worked for the South China Morning Post, and his experiences in China inspired his most well-known novel THE RETREAT OF RADIANCE.

Reviews

[Merissa (Archaeolibrarian) · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is an incredible amount of detail in this book that starts in the 1920's and goes through to the 1950's. You will go to New York, LA and back again. You will get a glimpse in the life of a gangster's moll, and see what life was life trying to make ends meet during the depression.

There are a lot of references made to ancient Greece, including the name of the one of the leading families being Zeuss, with a son called Hep.

This book is quite violent in places and has such an amount of detail that it is easy to get confused between who is who as there are so many different characters and a glut of similar sounding names.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am giving this book 3 stars because I honestly do not know how I feel about it. So much went on in the book. I do feel that some parts of the book could have been put in more detail as other parts should have had less detail. I have to say the author (and editor) are highly talented. This book may have not been a favorite of mine but it was well written for the most part.