I'm going to give this 3.5 stars. This is a very interesting story of two families joined by the marriage of Liana and Vasssili. As the years go by and their family grows, Vassilli becomes successful in Liana's father's business as a silver artisan. It takes place in Smyrna, where political tensions build between the Greeks and the Turks. Liana's and Vassilli's peaceful lives look very different as the city becomes embroiled in conflict. While I really enjoyed the quieter portions of the book that introduced us to the characters and explored their relationships and families, that was the vast majority of the book. There was very little of the book devoted to the rising political conflict and the tragedy that befell Smyrna and its residents. It's not a historical event or period of time that I know very much about, and a deeper dive into the Catastrophe, as it is called, would have made for a richer book, in my opinion. The main characters were fully crafted and the description of their day-to-day life was very detailed. The political aspects of the story needed similar levels of detail. Thanks to NetGalley and Harper for the advanced reader copy.

Pub date: 9/6/22
Genre: historical fiction, family drama
One sentence summary: Liana and Vassili build a life with their new family in early 1900s Smyrna, but when the conflict between the Greeks and Turks explodes, they'll have to decide if Smyrna is still home.

This book is a hybrid family drama/historical fiction - I was expecting the conflict in Smyrna to come up much earlier in the story, but instead, the beginning focused on Liana and Vassili's marriage and relationships with their in-laws. I enjoyed the character development, but I kept waiting for the plot to pick up. When it did, it moved very quickly, and even the epilogue left the story feeling a bit incomplete.

This one wasn't my favorite, but I would try another from Sarah Shoemaker!

Thank you to Harper Perennial for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5/5⭐️
Pub Day: 9-6-2022

We begin in Smyrna, 1908 and follow, Liana, a young girl of just 17 as she is paraded before mothers in a bath house in the hopes of finding a husband. Liana and her Greek family are the focus of this story, with the progression of WWI and then the Greco-Turkish war in the background for most of the story.

I enjoyed how this started and learning so much about the families traditions but it didn’t really feel like a historical fiction until the last 10%. The focus was on family dynamics for 15 years and then a bunch of things happened in the span of a few days. I felt blindsided.

Its a book that is very heavy on character development until the last three chapters which are jam packed with the effects of the war. It felt way too rushed and I wished there had been more explanation and follow up.

Good but very different than what I’d expected.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was grateful to receive an ARC for “Children of the Catastrophe.” Besides being a huge fan of historical fiction, my own (Greek) family was originally from Turkey and their stories of pain and suffering have always been part of my identity.

This book is about the Greeks (and Armenians) of Smyrna in the early 1900s. Their way of life was described in authentic detail. The story begins around 1908, focusing on the families of a young couple, Liana and Vasili. I loved the descriptions of how Greek mothers found their children’s spouses. (Not that I approve, but it was funny.) I loved Liana’s family with all their interactions, traditions, and warmth. It seemed that Sarah Shoemaker has a deep understanding and respect for the Greeks of Smyrna, so much so, that I wondered if she was Greek.

Vasili, the young husband, was a beautiful human being. His love for Liana, his children, and Liana’s family moved me. Liana’s father too was a loving family man, but Vasili had suffered from having a cold and controlling mother, and yet it didn’t turn him bitter. I really disliked his mother, Vaia, but she was not unusual for those times. My own grandmother was a lot like her. She hoped to control the young couple after they married, but underestimated the strength of Liana. Her strength of character was admirable, but sometimes our best qualities can also be our worst.

There are a lot of sad events in the book, and although the author writes with compassion, it is not melodramatic or sensational. I LOVED this book, and I feel that it will stay with me for a long time. I highly recommend it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#ChildrenoftheCatastrophe #NetGalley