Searching for Persephone

by S.M. Perkins Carr

Self-doubting twenty-four-year-old Violet is shaken to the core by the sudden loss of her best friend Persephone. Hoping to draw her out of a deep depression, her mother sends her to Crete, the Greek island she herself fled as a teenager. As Violet slowly heals, she strikes up an unexpected romance and begins to make plans for the future. But when the pandemic arrives, her world is once again dismantled. Searching for Persephone is a story of self-discovery and redemption in the midst of loss and defeat. Drawing on Greek myths, fairy folklore and quantum physics, the book explores themes of healing, cultural and personal identity, and the nature of perception and reality.

492 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2022

Reviews

[Ju · Rating 5 out of 5]

Searching for Persephone is an epic and enchanting novel. I quickly became enmeshed in its characters and locations, and was taken on a journey spanning decades and crossing continents. The scenery, customs and culinary delicacies of Crete are still fresh in my mind despite having finished the book months ago. I eagerly await the author’s next novel.

[Robert Popple · Rating 5 out of 5]

This debut novel by Shannon Perkins Carr is one of those books that I simply could not put down, once I had picked it up and started reading.
It is the love story of two main characters (Dimitri and Violet) that is set on the Greek island of Crete in modern times. It includes the COVID-19 pandemic that likely affected hundreds of couples similarly, by separating them for months that had soon become years, to test their mutual attraction.
At 460 pages, it is a lengthy read that is divided into three parts. The reader reaches its first climax near the end of Part 1 when Dimitri and Violet fall in love. The rest of the narrative takes many twists and turns that are related in vivid terms in the author's remarkable way with words.
I rarely read novels but can heartily recommend this one.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book- I want to visit Crete now! It was interesting to read a book set in the pandemic years and to see the effect that it had upon the characters in the story. I liked how the mythology of the area was woven into the story and how the bee references lent a certain mysterious quality to the events ( because bees are special). This book kept my interest- would like to see what S.M. Perkins Carr has in store for readers in the future.

[Eleusina · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful novel.
As someone from the PNW, I found the Vancouver scenes and events very intriguing. As someone who also would love to go to Greece, I can only imagine they were written with the same amount of realism and now I am all the more excited to plan a visit!

Learning a bit of Greek here and there as well, I tried to translate some of the phrases (with mixed success) before checking the footnotes.

What a beautiful, but also emotionally raw, and at the same time healing, book.

[Bianka · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absorbing first novel. As the main characters navigate life’s unexpected challenges, a growing sense of despair is interwoven with specks of hope symbolized by delicious Greek food, Cretan sunshine and many meditative swims - to name a few. Despite some of the dark themes explored, the prevailing message is to never give up, making this a very enjoyable read.

[Despoina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real page turner and a perfect companion for a Greek vacation