Once We Were Here

Once We Were Here isa modern epic, surging with the lifeblood of Greece and her proud history. Beautiful, tragic, and achingly lovely, this story of heroism, survival, and homeland captured my heart. -- Victoria Aveyard, #1 bestselling author of the Red Queen series This stirring debut by Christopher Cosmos examines the enduring costs of love and war, and the way family stories--even buried ones--set the course for generations to come. Cosmos is deeply committed not only to his characters and their harrowing experiences, but also to sharing, with insight and empathy, Greece's powerful and often heartbreaking history. -- Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and Love and Ruin Winston Churchill said that Greeks don't fight like heroes, but heroes fight like Greeks, and this story proves it; a stunning literary debut about legacy and history, war and peace, fate and destiny, the power of family and stories, and how young love can still shine and endure, even in the face of the greatest evils, and long after we're gone. -- Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of Gates of Fire and The Legend of Bagger Vance Christopher Cosmos gives the reader a front-row seat to six pivotal months in the history of Greece, and the world. Full of both heroics and disasters, Once We Were Here shines a vivid light on the human costs of war, and how we inherit family legacies of love, sacrifice, and secrets. -- Caitlin Horrocks, author of The Vexations As Cosmos highlights throughout the book, the Greek army's bravery was heralded throughout the war by the Allies and Axis alike, and were likened to the Greek mythological heroes in the way they fought and resisted. I could see where Costa and Alexi stand in for those mythological heroes, modern day Greeks, marching off to war as if they were Jason or Odysseus. Romance, long journeys, war, death, tragedy and heroes? Honestly, we might just have a modern day Greek myth on our hands here! The reality is, of all western European countries, Greece resisted against the Axis for the longest time, over 200 days. Cosmos truly captures that Greek fighting spirit in his characters and the story in Once We Were Here. -- Kat Cavano, Katcavano.com If Hitler and Stalin recognized the Greeks' courage, it's about time the world did, too. --Kirkus Reviews Fittingly for a story about wartime love and loss, there are also echoes of Ernest Hemingway. --Michigan Alumnus Magazine