A Perfect Stone, by S.C. Karakaltsas #BookReview

Greek migrants have been coming to Melbourne ever since the Gold Rush but their numbers surged in the postwar era when Arthur Calwell’s ‘populate or perish’ immigration program offered hope and a home to peoples devastated by the war.  People of Greek heritage are now an integral part of the fabric of our city, so much so that Melbourne is said to be the third largest Greek city in the world. Like many other Melburnians I have friends of Greek heritage and I have celebrated their festivals, dined in their restaurants, and tangled my toes in Zorba’s dance to the music of Mikis Theodorakis on Greek Independence Day.  And yet until I read A Perfect Stone by Melbourne author Sylvia Marakaltsas, I did not know a thing about the Greek Civil War (1946-1949).

Even more embarrassing is that I did not know that amongst the genial older Greeks of my acquaintance…