"[Ikonomou's stories] are heart-wrenching and moving yet devoid of any sentimentality. They are deeply illuminating, not only about working-class Greeks in the face of the crisis, but, more importantly, about the human condition." -Publishing Perspectives

"A gripping collection of short stories... Christos Ikonomou has already been hailed in the Italian press as a 'Greek Faulkner,' a description that conveys the emotional power but not the restraint or precision of his prose." -Mark Mazower, The Nation

"The Greek Faulkner... one of the most touching chronicles of the economic crisis to have come out of Greece." -La Repubblica

"Ikonomou redefines the value and the archetypal importance of the Greek epic ... in a few words he depicts the difficulty of living in the here and now." -Panorama

“There’s no arrogance in this book. This sensitive chronicler allows the reader to feel his characters’ existential anxiety from the very first line.” –Spiegel Online

“The Decameron of the crisis.” –Left Magazine

"Ikonomou enters the homes of popular neighborhoods of Piraeus – Nikea, Koridallos, Kokkinia – and gazes people hoping to find a trace, to locate a clue which allows him to dispel the economic tsunami or to appease the protests. It's an intimate eye he has: he sees faces, events and thoughts from behind the glass of a window, hidden by a corner. Sincere and unmerciful." – ANSA News Agency

"Christos Ikonomou gives the crisis a face, many faces." - Neue Zürcher Zeitung

"In 16 intense, touching snapshots he senses the atmosphere in the country and the pain of each individual." -Zuhause Wohnen

"The 43-year-old author of Piraeus writes without frills and laconically about the lives of the so-called little people around him." -Simon Hadler/Alexander Musik

"Finally, there’s a book that drags the Greek reader out of the satiate petty bourgeois frame or the lifestyle craze and throws him deep into the working class slums." -Ta Nea Newspaper

"Spectacular, bright fiction delivered from an author who has already accomplished much—and promises a lot more." -Kathimerini Newspaper

"[Ikonomou] has brought to the surface the struggles and unfulfilled dreams of Piraeus’ working classes, highlighting their beauty and the dignity. One of the most powerful books of the year: a novel that’s been widely read and admired." -Eleftherotypia Newspaper

"Ikonomou’s gaze never becomes melodramatic or pitiful; nor does it fall into the ease of depicting the extreme. There are absolutely no clichés and the usual stereotypes that accompany the depiction of the poor in literature… with this short-story collection (Ikonomou) rewrites the almost forgotten urban social realism into the fabric of Greece’s contemporary literature…(the author) enters contemporary Greek literature very dynamically." -Nea Hestia Literary Magazine

"[Ikonomou’s] dialogue sparkles with authenticity whereas his narrative bridges a simple and often rough language with moments of pure lyricism giving out a spark that fuels emotion." -Conteiner Magazine