ISLANDS OF MYTH

New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 785, 6 August 1954, Page 13

ISLANDS OF MYTH

AEGEAN GREECE, by ‘Robert Liddell; Jonathan Cape, English price 25/-. -OR many New Zealanders the mainland of Greece holds vivid memories. For a few, islands such as Leros in the Dodecanese also bring thoughts of war-time experiences. This book has a breadth of interest that cannot fail to please even the general reader. As travel literature it ranks high. In his roaming round the Aegean, Robert Liddeli has risked his life at sea; on land he has suffered the discomforts of primitive living and the boredom of talkative companions. These things are but the shadows that throw into relief the results of his brilliant introspection. As a classical scholar he is able to share his enthusiasm without tiring himself or his readers. As a literary man, he has the apt allusion and quotation to spice his tales. The islands of Aegean Greece are varied, but they have two common factors: the voverty of peasants and fishermen, and the wealth of myth and legend that enriches scenery which is never dull, To read Robert Liddell is to understand fascinating island groups and to renew happy association with stories of classical mythology. Linked with the effects of war and attempts at rehabilitation, the past becomes alive as never before. The attraction of history on such a wide canvas is profound. Liddell points out that you may not "meet with Polyphemus, or Circe, or the Laestrygonians, but you. will unescapably meet with Nestor... often he is a commando bore, with involved and unending stories about his own (quite genuine) heroism." ; The production of the book is lavish without being garish. The binding is superb and the photographs are of exceptional merit. The House of Cleopatra at Delos, scenes of Crete, and the view of Asia from Samos, take on a new dimension in magnificent photogravure. Aegean Greece is a prestige job for author and publisher alike. For once the summary of contents on the flap of the dust cover can be taken as a fair understatement about excellent travel

writing,

John

Pascoe