Call Me Stratos - Chrysoula Georgoula

After a dramatic divorce, and at the age of forty-two, Stratos Achtidis returns to his family home to live with his mother and brother. Humiliated and feeling isolated from family and friends, he turns to alcohol and reminisces about an over-glorified past. Through Stratos's eyes, the reader witnesses the social and economic transformations that have shaped Greek society over the past two decades; from the glory of the Olympic games through the economic crisis. The novel explores the struggles of ordinary working-class people, who have faced profound existential and financial challenges, and the resulting shifts in their way of life. In her debut novel, Georgoula delivers a pitch-perfect portrayal of the male psyche-particularly a certain kind of Greek male-with often brutal authenticity. it is a powerful depiction of some of the most significant issues affecting our society with a message about alienation and radicalisation which seems more pertinent than ever.