Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
Fear
Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Irini Spanidou
Class/Genre: Mystery
Knopf, Jan 1999, $21.00, 182 pp.
By 1959, thirteen-year old Anna Karystinou has learned that emotions, including FEAR, are worthless. For years she has accompanied her parents across their homeland of Greece due to the constant reassignments of her military father. Anna has no permanent friends. Her parents are cold and aloof as her father wants to make a "man" out of her. This leaves the teenager with no love and a vast void where her emotions should have developed.
However, humans cannot remain emotionally bankrupt as some feelings will enter the void. In the case of Anna, she loathes her unfeeling father and quickly realizes that those who profess to mentor her are actually her enemies. She turns to a serial killer, who is terrorizing their current hometown, for some deep emotinal warmth, even if her feelings are grounded in fear.
Talk about teen angst. Irini Spanidou provides an insightful look at a troubled teen, learning to contend with difficulties in order to survive. The fast-paced story line moves to an adrenaline rush of a climax without destroying the in-depth character study. Like her previous work, GOD'S SNAKE, Ms. Spanidou provides readers with a passionate look at the past decade in Greece.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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