Walking in Athens

by Nikos Vatopoulos, Joshua Barley (Translator)

Walking in Athens is a unique compilation of photos and accompanying articles, that came about from walking in various neighbourhoods of the city. Mixed architectural styles, crumbling houses juxtaposed against concrete buildings, empty facades next to sound apartment blocks, this is a guide to a secret landscape. A compilation that speaks not just about architecture – it speaks about people coming and going, society changing, civilization evolving.

Genres: Greece, Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published April 19, 2018

Reviews

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 ☆
ENGLISH REVIEW BELOW

Μια βόλτα σε γνωστούς και λιγότερο γνωστούς δρόμους της Αθήνας, με έμφαση στην αρχιτεκτονική. Τα 2 είδη γραμματοσειράς, που χρησιμοποιούνται για την αφήγηση συχνά κουράζουν. Πολύ όμορφες οι φωτογραφίες των κτιρίων που χρησιμοποιούνται για να συνοδεύσουν την αφήγηση.

A walk through well-known and lesser-known streets of Athens, with an emphasis on architecture. The 2 fonts, used for narration are often tiring to the eye. The photos of the buildings, that are used to accompany the narration are gems.

[Peter Salva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll just say that this took me four months to read. Why? I was lucky enough to visit Greece in May and I purchased this book there. I think, subconsciously, as I read it I was extending my trip, relating my reading to what I remember seeing as I walked the streets of Athens. A gorgeous read.

[John Benson · Rating 3 out of 5]

My wife bought this book for me before we came to Athens, as I enjoy walking and she thought it might help me enjoy the city. I started the book before our trip here, but it didn't make much sense, but upon our arriving here, it made more sense. For the past few years, I have walked through the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area and posted pictures from my walks at the end of every month. When I thought of this book in a similar light, it made much more sense. In the 40+ short essays that make up this book, the author finds different homes and neighborhoods that capture his eye. We see the homes and experience his feelings about them. I did not know where many of these neighborhoods were, but it did give me a sense of the greater Athens beyond the areas where I walked, which were more in the touristic areas of the city.

[Nikko · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, this is definitely not a guidebook. I picked it up in the small bit excellebt Little Tree Books behind the Acropolis museum. It is a series of short meditations on the built environment of Athens, as the author discusses an assortment of buildings, streets, and neighborhoods all over Athens. He really provides the possibility of seeing through dilapidation and graffiti to unveil the gems of Athens architecture from the early 20th century through the 1970s. His writing is really wonderful and I look forward to exploring these places.

This is not somewhere you will find information about the acropolis, rather little gems within the ordinary life of athenians past and present.