"Years ago, by sheer luck, I attended a reading by Mr. Pitsios in Mobile, Alabama. It was delightful, funny and wise and strange in the best way, and so I wasn't surprised when I heard about his first novel. And I'm glad to be among the first to report that this luminous tale surpasses my hopes. I congratulate him. And you, the reader, on the journey you are about to undertake." - Tom Franklin, author of Poachers, Hell at the Breech & Smonk [...The sun was sinking behind the village of Xourihti; the last rays brightened the golden leaves of the chestnut tree-tops and brushed orange patches on the light blue sea. A sailboat was passing in the distance, cutting a path through an orange patch. A soft old song was coming from a distant radio. A group of children were playing war on top of the ruins of the Venetian castle. The bell of Agios Taxiarhis started to toll, announcing it was time for vespers; its heavy sound rolled down the mountainside and spread out to sea. Everything seemed so peaceful, so normal, as if nothing was about to change...] - Nikos Pilios, The Bellmaker's House