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Amazon.co.uk Review
The world that Panos Karzenis takes us into in Little Infamies is that of an obscure Greek village. As we are introduced to the quirky inhabitants--the barber, the priest, the prostitute, the doctor, the mayor and the seamstress, we are granted insights into the lives of a series of strongly involving characters, and we are drawn ever deeper into a vividly realised society. But Panos Karnezis is like the magician who distracts us with his left hand while performing sleight-of-hand with his right. In fact, the village here is a strange and magical place: other inhabitants include the occasional animal: a parrot that can recite Homer, a horse called History--even a centaur. All these strange lives intersect, and in such a cloistered village, few secrets are kept hidden for long. Everybody learns about the eponymous little infamies that the human race commits.
This evocative and idiosyncratic book is a singular achievement for its insightful author. Perhaps the shadow of Borges is at the author's elbow (as well as a shot of Marquez's magic realism), but these creations are very much his own. We turn each page of Little Infamies agog, constantly diverted by the contrary actions of the characters here. But Karnezis is fully aware that to weave his spell with maximum power, it is always necessary to remain plausible--we always need that grittiness to anchor us in reality. And the nameless Greek village here comes to feel like a place we could walk the streets of, if we just knew where it was. But here it is, in the pages of this remarkable book. The journey is well worthwhile. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
The Times
‘Karnezis has captured the spirit of his people and spoken for them in a spellbinding, universal voice’
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Maybe I have a short attention span but I like short stories. British publishers have become loth to publish them recently because, "Nobody reads them." Many that are published comprise incomplete scraps that wouldn't make a novel, or literary self-indulgent "stories" in which nothing much happens. No surprise, then, that the short story is in decline in the UK despite thriving in Europe and the USA.
This excellent collection comes from Greek author, Panos Karnezis. Although his style is not similar to Chekhov's short stories, his subject matter is: ordinary tales about ordinary people, and like Chekhov he manages to make the seemingly ordinary into something fascinating. Karnezis writes about the people in a poor, isolated Greek village with a series of partly-connected tales. Subtle and blatant, he uses just enough detail to propel his narratives along, as his all-too-human subjects display their darker aspects, allowing Karnezis's sly humour to break through the darkness and illuminate these knowing portraits of people trapped by both poverty and geography.
A minor masterpiece; I await a British author of short stories who can equal this achievement.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Karnezis creates his world with exquisite control and a wonderfully resonant use of language. His extraordinary collection of oddball characters - the bird fancier, the whore, the priest, the driver of the bus to the county capital - love and hate, work, drink and die in an unspecified Greek village, balanced on the border between magic and relentless reality. Playful, imaginative, insightful and deeply humourous,this is a talent to get excited about.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The short story, that stalwart of the sixties and seventies, has become decidedly unfashionable in the third millennium; what was once a precise and treasured art is now shunned by public and publisher alike. It takes a brave new author - as well as a ground breaking publisher like Vintage - to cut against the grain and write a collection of short stories as his debut but Karnezis seems assured of success if greater riches are to follow. Little Infamies is a saga of stories - episodes is perhaps nearer the mark - about a small, anonymous and lively Greek village and its colourful inhabitants. At times the stories read like novellas with a winding, barely credible plot while at others they seem more like articles from the local paper, capturing as they do the rich essence of character and event. Karnezis is, undoubtedly, a fine story teller in the tradition of Italo Calvino; the delicate balance of fantasy, myth and contemporary fact is a skill which few writers of the short story seem to possess. Angela Carter and Helen Simpson excelled at this and Karnezis displays admirable talent and potential. The nineteen stories in this collection can be read as easily alone as in the context of the book - a sign of a confident, practised story teller. I look forward to his next work and hope the wait is not too long.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Modern Greek Delight
Panos Karnezis took an old Greek village, spiced it with modern Greek irony and stirred it with a magic Latin-American spoon. The result is 19 delightful stories. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Vad From Leeds
Rubbish
Yes a collection of short stories lazily linked together with utterly ridiculous conclusions, normally concluded with a pathetic short paragraph, wolves being trained to attack and... Read more
Published on 17 Sep 2008 by Mr. Haydon Gibbins
Excellent cameos drawn with a subtle brush
When I began these stories I expected to find fables of Greek village life, steeped in local atmosphere, with strong plot twists not unlike those of Guy de Maupassant. Read more
Published on 19 Jan 2008 by Nigel J. Robinson
What can I say… brilliant.
What can I say… brilliant. And believe me I don’t say this very often.
Panos Karnezis takes no prisoners. He goes straight for the jugular. Read more
Published on 10 May 2003 by "eoliver100"
A great new talent? Almost certainly.
I have read this offering by Panos Karnezis almost in one go. I found it thoroughly enjoyable and a delight to the senses. Read more
Published on 8 May 2003 by "johnybravo2001"
What can I say… brilliant.
What can I say… brilliant. And believe me I don’t say this very often.
Panos Karnezis takes no prisoners. He goes straight for the jugular. Read more
Published on 8 May 2003 by "eoliver100"
Magical orTragicomical Realism?
Whilst I read this book I felt that Karnezis was not only skilfully and deliberately messing about with time and reality but also with my mind, and very enjoyable it was too! Read more
Published on 21 Nov 2002 by A. H. Lever
Pleasing short story collection by debut talent
'Little Infamies' begins with an earthquake and ends, appropriately enough, with a flood. Between these two momentous events, reminiscent of biblical judgement, the author relates... Read more
Published on 24 Jan 2002
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