Love and hope survive conflict
Print Edition
APHRODITE, the Greek goddess of love, beauty and sexuality, is said to have been born in Cyprus. With all the meanings such a name suggests, she is now the major character in British writer Victoria Hislop’s recent novel “The Sunrise.”
Set in 1972, Cyprus, “The Sunrise” was the best hotel in Famagusta, owned and built by Aphrodite and her husband Savvas Papcosta.
“Famagusta was then golden. The beach, the bodies of sunbathers and the lives of those who lived there were gilded by warmth and good fortune …,” Hislop writes in chapter one.
Born into such a golden age, the Papcostas lived a glamorous and sophisticated life, going to the night club every day and working to build up a chain of hotels that would one day be an international brand name as recognizable as the Hilton.
But what happens two years later alters the course of their lives. When the Greek army backs a “coup” to depose the Cypriot president, the island is plunged into chaos between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots. Turkey invades to protect the Turkish Cypriot minority, and Famagusta is shelled.
“I was always very interested in how such a small island, with a population of only 500,000 in 1974, could be divided into two halves. I wanted to investigate what had led up to this and what the situation was before the division,” Hislop tells Shanghai Daily while she was in the city recently for the launch of the Chinese version of the book.
Hislop worked as a journalist before becoming an author. She has been traveling to Greece for over 30 years and has developed a very close relationship with the country. She learned Greek to speak with people and do TV and radio interviews. She says she spent a lot of time in Cyprus while doing research for her book.
“As a result, I made friends and many people shared their memories. I got to do a lot of reading in the libraries in London and read from the newspapers in the 1970s about the division,” she says. “Though the historical background was quite complex, many Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots up to 1974 were actually friends. It was the interference of foreign powers that created this war and bitterness.”
Today, glamour and wealth have given way to decay and the main tourist area is a ghost town, the port a fiercely guarded Turkish military zone.
In the north the Turks have declared a new state, “The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” but it is not recognized as a country by the international community. Turkish Cypriots have suffered from this as international flights will not land there and trade is difficult.
On the other hand, people living in the south who want to get their old homes back are frustrated.
The eve when the Turkish soldiers landed on the island, as much as 40,000 Greek Cypriots were forced to flee with only the clothes on their backs. Many ended up either leaving Cyprus and leaving everything they owned behind, or moving to another part of the island to start all over again.
“The Sunrise” takes us back to the plight of Famagusta some 40 years ago, and includes both Turkish and Greek Cypriot families in a way that sees each side as victims of the fighting that led to the partition.
Hislop answers a few questions about writing and her book.
What’s the message of the book?
There are so many themes and ideas that readers might find. But if I had to give one of these as a “message,” it is that love and friendship cannot be destroyed by war and conflict. They can endure. And hope is the same. It need not be destroyed.
Who do you think suffered the most in the war?
In this war, it was the community which suffered. The war devastated the island and ripped apart every community (both Greek and Turkish Cypriot). Since 2003 it has been possible to cross the line that divides the island, and many people tell stories of going to visit their old homes which are now inhabited by strangers.
Almost 40 years after the Cyprus War in 1974, how has life changed? What are your hopes for the island?
Politically, the situation appears to be a stalemate, that is, nothing has happened to resolve it. But there are politicians constantly negotiating, so I hope that one day in the next decade we will learn that everything is resolved and the island will be whole again.
Why do we read a novel like this when we can be equally well informed of a human interest story from the daily news?
I think the most important thing in a novel is to feel the emotion of the characters. We rarely get this from the newspapers ... I am interested in imagining what is happening with the women and the families.
What do you see as the biggest difference between journalist writing and fictional writing?
I always describe it as the difference between walking and flying. In journalism, you have to research deeply and make sure that all of the facts are correct, while in fictional writing there are no restrictions. Being able to let your imagination travel, to imagine people’s emotions and feelings is very exciting.
About The Author
British writer Victoria Hislop is known as an inspirational storyteller and was short-listed for a British Book Award for “The Island,” first published in 2005. The book on the Greek leprosy colony soon became an international best-seller, translated into 30 languages with over 3 million copies sold worldwide. With an affection for the history and culture of the Mediterranean region, she has also written “The Return,” “The Thread,” and “The Last Dance and Other Stories” — all themed on love, betrayal and conflicts. “The Sunrise” is her fifth book.
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