“Even up to the early 20th Century, fathers wouldn’t talk directly to their daughters in Kastellorizo, speaking to them through their wives. It was a terrible situation for women,” Nicholas Malaxos told Neos Kosmos in an interview about the publication of his first book ‘My Father’s Daughter’, and his desire to honour the women, and their struggles in his ancestral homeland.
‘My Father’s Daughter’ is an historical novel, released in two editions, Greek and English. The story shines a light on the lives of the people of Kastellorizo, and especially the women, whose fates were dictated by others. Parents married their young daughters off to much older men, and despite the difficult circumstances they faced – derived mainly from the anachronistic traditions of many stemming from the period of Turkish Ottoman occupation – these women became pillars of their families.
Malaxos narrates the lives of Yiorgos and Maria and their families, over three generations, during turbulent times, from mid-19th to early 20th Centuries. It was a period characterised by mass migration born of oppression, unbearable taxation, and the harsh Ottoman measures against Christians on the island. The people of Kastellorizo left for Egypt, America, Australia, and other places in search of a safer future. Although they faced many hardships, they maintained their cultural identity, passing on their traditions to the next generations.
“At the turn of the 20th Century, there were 10,000 people living on that little island, and today there are only around 200 permanent residents,” Malaxos said.
Malaxos includes personal testimonies from his own family intertwined with fictional events. He left behind his childhood home in Port Said, Egypt, at a young age, which informs the author’s personal experience of uprooting and migration. The author has personally visited, or lived in the places mentioned in his novel, providing authenticity to the narrative. The reader moves from Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt, Russia, America, and Australia, and back to Kastellorizo, the birthplace of the writer’s father, Ioannis N. Malaxos. Ioannis was a charismatic man to whom this first book is dedicated.
Malaxos started writing the book five years ago and he is grateful to Anna Arseni, who helped him and translated the book into Greek so that his novel could be published simultaneously in both languages.
The launch of ‘My Father’s Daughter’ was held in a packed hall of the Castellorizian Association of New South Wales last week, as part of the Sydney Greek Festival. Professor Katherine Georgouras OAM presented the book, while the audience included Konstantinos Yiannakodimos press counselor representing the Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Yiannis Mallikourtis, Harry Danalis, the president of the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW, Nia Karteris, and the chair of the Greek Festival, Katerina Kouris among many others.
Nicholas Malaxos thanked all those who made the launch possible, with the special mention of Irene Elliott, Pat Sechos, Harry Tolitsas, Chris Skiladellis, and Vicky Kazaglis Gallagher, who conveyed the greetings of the president of the Castellorizian Association, George Pizanis, who was absent following the passing of his mother, Maritsa Pizanis.
In August, ‘My Father’s Daughter’ will be presented in Kastellorizo by the Hellenic History Foundation, during the International Documentary Festival of Kastellorizo.
For a copy contact the Castellorizian Association of NSW via email: thecastellorizian@gmail.com
