Kythira, just a special island

by Frank van Weerde, Jenni West (Translator), Peter Spink (Translator)

In ‘Kythira, just a special island’ twenty one islanders talk about their life on the Greek island of Kythira. On the basis of Frank’s interviews with Greeks, an Albanian couple and a Dutch woman, you will get a good impression of their daily activities, their background and their dreams for the future. Discover why this ordinary island is so special, or why this special island is so ordinary.

223 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2012

Reviews

[Remi van Beekum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een must-read voor iedereen die Kythira wil bezoeken. Aan de hand van een hele serie, vrij letterlijk opgeschreven interviews met Kythirianen, krijg je een goed beeld van dit prachtige Griekse eiland, haar geschiedenis, cultuur, keuken, gebruiken en mensen.

[Vanessa M · Rating 4 out of 5]

It only makes sense to read this book if you visit Kythira. We are renovating a house there so i wanted to know more about it. It is a series of interviews of local people sharing their life experience on the island. Because there are very few books on the island, it was really insightful to listen to their stories: their love for the island (a lot of migrants to Australia or Canada actually came back to Kythira after many years abroad ), how hard life was for them, the importance of music and religion, the history of some buildings and locations, how the island lost its population and is being transformed by tourism , the impact of the economic crisis in Greece. You can feel the tension in the book over development vs preservation : should they have a bigger airport? Install wind turbines? . Over tourism hasn’t touched the island yet. It is still a very authentic island.