'A woman in my village gave me four prophecies...they have all come true, so far.
'Sia is a young Greek woman who has emigrated from Greece to Perth, Western Australia in 1945 for a better life. She carries with her four prophecies and four pieces of protective jewellery, matia, one for herself, her daughter, her granddaughter, and great-granddaughter. With a dooming prophecy hanging over each woman's head will their lives unfold as they want or are they chained to the fate that's been destined for them?
'Over four generations and three continents, linking back and forth over 125 years from Greece to Perth to New York and back to Greece, Emily Tsokos Purtill has weaved a story that is utterly captivating and deeply moving.' (Publication summary)
'Emily Tsokos Purtill’s first novel, Matia, is both ambitiously expansive and, narrated as a series of moments in time, deftly miniaturised. Spanning four individual decades from 1940 to 2070, and moving between continents, it details the lives of four generations of Greek-Australian mothers and daughters. Unlike a conventional family saga, the novel has the associative structure of memory, moving through time and space in unpredictable ways, creating both threads of continuity and a sense of fragmentation. The narrative focus on women charts the struggle for agency through the eyes of the four women, each of them bequeathed a bracelet – the Greek word matia of the book’s title – intended to ward off the evil eye. As such, the modern concept of individualism collides with the realms of prophecy and superstition, producing a fascinating exploration of the crucial issues of female agency and choice.'(Introduction)
'Emily Tsokos Purtill’s debut novel ranges across continents to tell the stories of five generations of Greek women.'
'Emily Tsokos Purtill’s debut novel ranges across continents to tell the stories of five generations of Greek women.'
'Emily Tsokos Purtill’s first novel, Matia, is both ambitiously expansive and, narrated as a series of moments in time, deftly miniaturised. Spanning four individual decades from 1940 to 2070, and moving between continents, it details the lives of four generations of Greek-Australian mothers and daughters. Unlike a conventional family saga, the novel has the associative structure of memory, moving through time and space in unpredictable ways, creating both threads of continuity and a sense of fragmentation. The narrative focus on women charts the struggle for agency through the eyes of the four women, each of them bequeathed a bracelet – the Greek word matia of the book’s title – intended to ward off the evil eye. As such, the modern concept of individualism collides with the realms of prophecy and superstition, producing a fascinating exploration of the crucial issues of female agency and choice.'(Introduction)
