Let Me Explain You

June 22, 2015
Liontas's often raucous debut about a dysfunctional Greek-American family opens with Stavros Stavros Mavrakis's email to his three daughters and second ex-wife. After the Goat of Death appears to him, he believes he has 10 days to live. The proud, successful Stavros seethes with anger, and in broken English gives edicts to his family and insults them, shifting any blame away from himself, thereby assuring that his email is received in the worst possible way. Backstory about his early life on Crete and his first years in America with his first wife pinpoints the origin of his rage and the troubles he visits upon his two eldest daughters. Lacking parental support, Stavroula becomes a successful chef, but in her private life an unfed need leaves her hungry. Litza, the middle daughter, unwittingly offered herself as a pawn in her parents' disastrous divorce, and became a hot, angry mess. The youngest daughter, Ruby, from Stavros's second marriage, is the golden child. Liontas adds tremendously to the novel's ambiance through Stavros's idiomatic language, expertly reveals the layers of her characters' lives, and perfectly captures their emotional temperatures in an unputdownable read. Agent: David McCormick, McCormick and Williams.

June 15, 2015

This debut opens with Greek immigrant and diner owner Stavros Stavros Mavrakis emailing his three grown daughters and one of his ex-wives. Believing himself to be dying, he details what changes he would like his family to make in the near future. The Mavrakis women dismiss his words until they realize Stavros has disappeared. Offering perspectives on their missing patriarch are Stavroula, the eldest daughter and talented chef; turbulent, tumultuous Litza; and adoring Ruby, to whom Stavros offers advice about love. Ex-wives Carol and Dina also offer their views on their former husband. It becomes clear through these perspectives that Stavros, in building his businesses, became a neglectful, overburdened father and husband. VERDICT Tradition and transformation, bitterness and forgiveness are the ingredients that make up this Greek American family. Serving readers many Greek delicacies, both culinary and vernacular, Liontas's multigenerational tale of miscommunications and mistakes is a delectable, provocative achievement.--Andrea Tarr, Corona P.L., CA

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
Liontas' debut paints a lively portrait of a dysfunctional Greek American family headed by its patriarch, Stavros Mavrakis, owner of a New Jersey diner, who becomes convinced by a dream that he has only 10 days to live. He sends an e-mail to his ex-wife and three daughters telling each of them what they should do with their lives, and that they should do these things for his sake in his final days. No one takes his letter seriously, believing that Stavros is merely experiencing some sort of midlife crisis, but at least it brings them together, if only to laugh over Stavros' many faults. The novel's middle chapters are the strongest, providing Stavros' backstory growing up in Crete, the eighth of 12 sons, where he taught himself the entrepreneurial skills he later puts to good use in his Gala Diner. Liontas glosses over several characters, notably the youngest daughter and her mother. Nevertheless, this simultaneously sad and funny story of a first-generation immigrant and his rocky family relationships will resonate with a broad range of readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)