Alexis is an archeologist with a good job in a British museum and a
relationship that, three years in, seems to be withering. Their Greek Island
holiday has exposed deep fault lines in a seemingly perfect match. Toward the
end of the vacation, Alexis decides to go alone to visit the Greek village
where her Mother grew up. Her Mother has always been secretive about her past,
and Alexis wants to see where she lived, and understand how she came to be in
England. Her Mother gives Alexis a letter for her friend Fotini, who tells Alexis
the story of her grandmother Anna, and great-aunt Maria.
Eleni, (Alexis’s great-grandmother) lives in Plaka, on the island of Crete
with her husband and two daughters, Anna and Maria. When she is diagnosed with
leprosy, she is exiled to the island of Spinalonga, just across the water from
Plaka. Spinalonga was one of the last active leper colonies in Europe, being
used for that purpose from 1903-1957.
Eleni was exiled to Spinalonga, entering through the lepers' entrance, a tunnel known as ‘Dante’s Gate’, so named because the patients did not know what was going to happen to them once they arrived. However, once on the island they received food, water, medical attention and social security payments. Her daughters were left behind with their father.
Fotini takes Alexis to visit Spinalonga, and tells her all about her Mother’s family, as well as the history of Greece, Crete, Plaka and Spinalonga.
This book is overly long, very detailed, and rather shallow in some ways, but is a fascinating glimpse into leprosy and the lives of people inflicted with it.
482 pages
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