What do readers think of My Last Lament by James William Brown? Write your own review.

A pleasant historical fiction storyline set mainly in occupied and post-WWII Greece recollects the life of a professional lamenter, Aliki and the two people she counts as her family, Stelios and Takis. The strength of this story for me were the details of the Greek cultural practices against a turbulent and unpredictable time. Although there are some dramatic and twisty moments to keep the story moving at times the characters seemed a little too simplistic to me and bogged down the pace. I enjoyed the format of Aliki recording her life on cassette tapes as this connected the oral storytelling tradition that Aliki informs the readers of the puppet shows and dirge-poems regarding the deceased. This lovely story will appeal to fans of cultural history and WWII stories with a different twist.

I have mixed feelings on this novel. The subject matter is one I am always drawn to, set in Greece it covers WWII and the aftermath of the civil war in that country. This is a microcosm of WWII but more about the unrest that followed in the aftermath when so many men were killed and the country was ravaged leaving those remaining to make hard and at times poor choices. Weaved through the story is the culture of the last lament and Greek History.

WWII books are currently very popular but mostly they are about the European portion. This book happens to be about the War in Greece. Unfortunately, after the War civil fighting persisted and many more people were killed, injured or imprisoned. This is a sad story told by an old woman named Aliki. She is one of the last lamenters or those who bemoan a death at funerals. Asked by an American college student to make a record of her art she instead decides to tell her life story on the cassettes that the student gave her. The whole country of Greece is in disorder and Alikl and her two companions' lives mirror this turmoil. One of the brighter parts of the book is when the three characters give plays throughout the area using puppets and stories from the old Greek tragedies, technically this is the craft of "shadow theatre"

My Last Lament is a tale of one woman's experiences in the post-war Greece. Her life is her last lament, as an archetype of the Greek woman. This novel deeply investigates darkness -- the ravages of war, tragedy, insanity, lost love, abandonment and betrayal. Through it all, I came to love and admire the lamenter, Aliki.

Brown's writing style relies heavily on dialog, and I felt sometimes the detail put the story in slow motion. That said, I would recommend it to book clubs for discussion.

Since there have not been any new books about World War II in Greece, I found the book interesting. The book is a personal description of that war and how it affected the main character and her family.