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Apartment in Athens by Glenway Wescott ➤ Harper & Brothers 1945 Hardcover with Jacket
Apartment in Athens by Glenway Wescott Harper & Brothers 1945
Title: Apartment in Athens
Author: Glenway Wescott
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Harper & Brothers 1945
Size: 5 X 8.25 * 268 pages
Synopsis: From the Jacket: This is a story of the inhumanity of the Germans in their occupation of defeated countries, of the anguish and the heroism of ordinary men under them- a story which will continue to have a great meaning for our time long after the actual defeat of Germany on the battlefield. It is the story of a simple, middle-class family, which in this book is Greek but which might be of any captive nation, for Greece in its pathetic fate and noble resistance only typifies the other conquered nations of Europe.
Mr. and Mrs. Helianos were nearly beaten-starving and ill in both mind and body-but their existence had been more or less their own until Captain Kalter was billeted in their best rooms, controlling their meagre rations and monopolizing their lives. Helianos had cousins who, because they were active in the underground, were heroic in the ordinary sense. But he and his wife were gentle and timid, conciliatory and long suffering, with nothing to sustain them in their defeat except the tenderness of their old marriage and their pity for their children. Dulled by privation and spiritually crippled, they had watched their abnormally childish little girl grow imperceptive and as undemanding as a small, sick animal. They had seen their son Alex, still a small boy, already with the light of vengeance in his furtive eyes and a sad lust for blood, if it was German blood. The intrusion of Kalter only increased their grief, lowered their voices to fearful whispers and made more miserable an already wretched existence.
It is the development of Kalter and his subtle calculated influence on the Helianos family that makes this book one of the most dramatic, penetrating studies to come out of this war. There are many types of Germans but few have been portrayed of the insidious, cunning brutality of Captain Kalter. Never once could he have conceived of wavering in his admiration for his Fuehrer even after hideous tragedy had fallen on his personal life as a product of his master's war. In one way, however, Kalter was changed by this personal catastrophe, by a leave home and a promotion to the rank of Major. It allowed his self-pitying sentimentality to show itself. It led him to seek the companionship of Helianos to whom he preached the violent, mystical philosophy of Nazism; a doctrine frightening in its narrow, cold-blooded assurance. It was this doctrine, unsoftened by personal experience, that turned Kalter against the Greek and carried the German to his self-destruction. It was the tyranny of this single German on the family rather than the total effect of war that consummated the Helianos' despair, that made of the husband a martyr and the son a hero and turned the widowed mother from her hypochondria, in a final moment of sacrifice and strange worldly wisdom, to give her son over to the underground. Like the widow of the Gospel she "of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.
In Apartment In Athens, Glenway Wescott has written the finest novel of his career and one of the most moving books of this war. His writing is objective, clear and forceful. His characters in their strength and weakness are so vivid that they cannot be erased from one's mind. Here is pathos, devastation, horror and a brilliance of truth that is unsurpassed.
Overall Condition: Good + The book has been read but is in good condition. It has no issues to the cover, including scuff marks, holes or tears. The dust jacket has some wear and is included. The binding has minimal wear. The pages are undamaged with no creasing or tearing, no pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins. There are no missing pages; see images.
Secure shipping bubble-wrapped in a new box.
2026--U.S. shipping for this (Two Pounds Media Mail) is $5.13 with tracking.
Multiple items will be combined for the lowest shipping price.
International Shipping cost is based on the destination so inquire before buying. Mobile users must scroll to the bottom and click on 'use desktop site' to bring up the Ask a Question link which sends me an email.
(PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE MAKING ANY PAYMENT FROM OUTSIDE THE U.S.)
==========================================================================================================================
Just about all the books are USED books. Some have been used more gently than others. Some have been in libraries and have typical library extras. Some are so old and/or interesting that they are being offered for the sake of preservation regardless of the condition they are in. If the condition of the book is very important to you, please feel free to click the 'Ask seller a question' link and I will tell you more.
=========================================================================================
Title: Apartment in Athens
Author: Glenway Wescott
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Harper & Brothers 1945
Size: 5 X 8.25 * 268 pages
Synopsis: From the Jacket: This is a story of the inhumanity of the Germans in their occupation of defeated countries, of the anguish and the heroism of ordinary men under them- a story which will continue to have a great meaning for our time long after the actual defeat of Germany on the battlefield. It is the story of a simple, middle-class family, which in this book is Greek but which might be of any captive nation, for Greece in its pathetic fate and noble resistance only typifies the other conquered nations of Europe.
Mr. and Mrs. Helianos were nearly beaten-starving and ill in both mind and body-but their existence had been more or less their own until Captain Kalter was billeted in their best rooms, controlling their meagre rations and monopolizing their lives. Helianos had cousins who, because they were active in the underground, were heroic in the ordinary sense. But he and his wife were gentle and timid, conciliatory and long suffering, with nothing to sustain them in their defeat except the tenderness of their old marriage and their pity for their children. Dulled by privation and spiritually crippled, they had watched their abnormally childish little girl grow imperceptive and as undemanding as a small, sick animal. They had seen their son Alex, still a small boy, already with the light of vengeance in his furtive eyes and a sad lust for blood, if it was German blood. The intrusion of Kalter only increased their grief, lowered their voices to fearful whispers and made more miserable an already wretched existence.
It is the development of Kalter and his subtle calculated influence on the Helianos family that makes this book one of the most dramatic, penetrating studies to come out of this war. There are many types of Germans but few have been portrayed of the insidious, cunning brutality of Captain Kalter. Never once could he have conceived of wavering in his admiration for his Fuehrer even after hideous tragedy had fallen on his personal life as a product of his master's war. In one way, however, Kalter was changed by this personal catastrophe, by a leave home and a promotion to the rank of Major. It allowed his self-pitying sentimentality to show itself. It led him to seek the companionship of Helianos to whom he preached the violent, mystical philosophy of Nazism; a doctrine frightening in its narrow, cold-blooded assurance. It was this doctrine, unsoftened by personal experience, that turned Kalter against the Greek and carried the German to his self-destruction. It was the tyranny of this single German on the family rather than the total effect of war that consummated the Helianos' despair, that made of the husband a martyr and the son a hero and turned the widowed mother from her hypochondria, in a final moment of sacrifice and strange worldly wisdom, to give her son over to the underground. Like the widow of the Gospel she "of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.
In Apartment In Athens, Glenway Wescott has written the finest novel of his career and one of the most moving books of this war. His writing is objective, clear and forceful. His characters in their strength and weakness are so vivid that they cannot be erased from one's mind. Here is pathos, devastation, horror and a brilliance of truth that is unsurpassed.
Overall Condition: Good + The book has been read but is in good condition. It has no issues to the cover, including scuff marks, holes or tears. The dust jacket has some wear and is included. The binding has minimal wear. The pages are undamaged with no creasing or tearing, no pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins. There are no missing pages; see images.
Secure shipping bubble-wrapped in a new box.
2026--U.S. shipping for this (Two Pounds Media Mail) is $5.13 with tracking.
Multiple items will be combined for the lowest shipping price.
International Shipping cost is based on the destination so inquire before buying. Mobile users must scroll to the bottom and click on 'use desktop site' to bring up the Ask a Question link which sends me an email.
(PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE MAKING ANY PAYMENT FROM OUTSIDE THE U.S.)
==========================================================================================================================
Just about all the books are USED books. Some have been used more gently than others. Some have been in libraries and have typical library extras. Some are so old and/or interesting that they are being offered for the sake of preservation regardless of the condition they are in. If the condition of the book is very important to you, please feel free to click the 'Ask seller a question' link and I will tell you more.
=========================================================================================
