Betwixt and Between - Miltiades B. Hatzopoulos

The touching story of a teenager who struggles with the eternal problems of adolescence, Betwixt & Between is a coming-of-age novel set in a politically divided country.

While the era of British colonialism in Cyprus is coming to a violent end, Dimitri tries to come to terms with the consequences of the political turmoil on his own life. Strengthened by his passion for medieval poetry and his love for the history of his island, he sets out to balance the Cypriot and English elements in his daily life. His quest for answers is complicated by romantic love for his British friend Anne and his physical attraction to his father’s maid Phrossou. Balancing between different identities, religions and communities, his personal search becomes symbolic of his country’s turbulent political situation.

A nostalgic story about family, love and friendship, Betwixt & Between is a powerful novel about the psychology of an adolescent torn between different worlds, and about the complexities of life and love in the social and historical mosaic of 1950s colonial Cyprus. It is a beautifully-observed, historically-informed novel by the celebrated Greek historian and novelist.