Where the Wandering Ends

A Novel of Corfu

by Yvette Manessis Corporon, Myrto Stylou

On Sale: 2022-09-06

Price: $27.99

Format: Downloadable audio file

Book Summary

Two young friends are separated by unspeakable tragedy during the Greek Civil War, haunted by a vow to return to one another and their home on the island of Corfu where queens, villagers, and goddesses come together to prove there is no force more powerful than the magic of a mother’s love.

About the Book

They wondered if they would ever find their way back—back to the village, back to a life of meaning, back to each other.

Corfu, 1946—In a poor Greek community, ten-year-old Marco is perhaps the poorest of them all. But it wasn’t always that way. His grandmother once worked for the royal family where Marco’s mother played alongside young Prince Phillip himself. Now Greece is on the brink of civil war, and Marco’s mother still clings to the desperate hope that somehow the royal family will save her own.

As the war turns deadlier, Greece’s Queen Frederica takes a defiant stand against the communists, announcing that she will save her country’s most innocent by opening children’s villages. When the communist partisans erect camps of their own, children are ripped from their mothers’ arms; entire villages are emptied.

Young Katerina has been best friends with Marco for as long as she can remember, cementing their bond by stealing scraps from her family’s table to sneak to him. But when the communists reach their village, loyalties are tested as devastating secrets threaten to emerge. Katerina and Marco are separated just before her family flees on foot. At their final goodbye, Katerina and Marco promise to find their way back to the village, and to each other. This haunting childhood vow launches events that will take decades to unravel.

Set among Corfu’s picturesque lanes, hamlets, and villas where kings, villagers, and saints all walk the same cobblestone paths, Where the Wandering Ends reminds us of the tenacity of those who have lost everything and the enduring power of home.

“[A] magically crafted story combining history and mythology.” —Heather Morris, New York Times bestselling author

  • A heart-wrenching yet hopeful story that spans decades: from post-World War II to early 2000s
  • Stand-alone novel
  • Book length: approximately 112,000 words

Reviews

'Corporon, the daughter of Greek immigrants, tells a compelling story spanning six decades in the lives of Greeks living on the island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea . . . Corporon brings to light a little-known part of European history with her fluid prose, attention to detail, and character-driven narrative.'

A sweeping, multigenerational story of love, loss and sacrifice, Where the Wandering Ends is a beautiful journey through time in a war-ravaged, picturesque land of royalty, ruin, and hope.

A tale of homecoming, woven with beautiful threads from history, mythology, and the indelible truths and wisdom of the human heart.

Corfu's beauty, which Corporon describes in sumptuous detail, is juxtaposed against the turbulence and devastation caused by war. Fascinating historical facts and references to mythological Greek tales intertwine with moving scenes, tension-building plot points and surprising revelations to create a powerful, soaring story. This is a spectacular novel about the enduring devotion of family and the steadfast loyalty between friends.

Love, hope, courage, and survival thread their way through this magically crafted story combining history and mythology.

Set on the romantic island of Corfu, Where the Wandering Ends is a powerful, emotional tale of recent history, showing the disruption of lives during the Greek civil war.

Product Details

  • ISBN: 9781400236091
  • ISBN 10: 1400236096
  • Imprint: Harper Muse
  • On Sale: 2022-09-06
  • List Price: $27.99
  • Publisher: Harper Muse
  • Publication Date: 2022-09-06
  • Category 1 : FICTION / Historical / World War II
  • Category 2 : FICTION / Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology
  • Category 3 : FICTION / Contemporary Women