Karnezis, Panos : The Maze

"Little Infamies" was one of the great successes of 2002: a collection of extraordinary stories that gained rapturous reviews and very strong sales. Now, Panos Karnezis brings us his first novel, "The Maze", a book that will propel him to the very first rank of young writers. Set in Anatolia in 1922, "The Maze" is the story of a retreating Greek brigade that has lost its way. It is pursued by a Turkish army that seeks to avenge three years of Greek occupation. No help is forthcoming. Commanded by a brigadier with a passion for Greek mythology and an addiction to morphia, the brigade's only chance of salvation is to reach the Mediterranean coast and sail home. As the army wanders through the Anatolian desert, their internal divisions become more pronounced and their dementias more florid. Eventually, they reach a small town, up until now untouched by the war, which is run by a simple-minded mayor and is peopled by a gallery of wonderfully strange characters. When the soldiers leave at last, a tragedy has taken place and the town has changed forever.