Sunday 29 October 2023 13:00
In October, the SNFCC Teenagers’ Reading Club continues its meetings, facilitated by comic book artist and translator Thanasis Petrou as facilitator. Books of his include: Giannoulis Halepas. The Myth of Modern Greek Sculpture (on a script by Dimitris Vanellis, Patakis Publishers, 2019); Gra-Grou (on a script by Tassos Zafiriadis and Yannis Palavos, Ikaros Publishers); At the Battle of Marathon (Patakis Publishers, 2015).
October: Giorgos K. Panagiotakis, Microcosmos
Don't worry if you haven't been able to read the entire book, or if you’ve missed our previous meeting. Each month, the Reading Club facilitator, Thanasis Petrou, will be giving us a new cue, announcing the book that we will all be reading together over the weeks to follow. At the end of the month, the group of people who have read the book (or at least half of it) will be meeting to exchange thoughts, impressions, feelings and concerns, triggered by what we have just read, whether we liked it a lot or not so much.
The plot
The setting is a huge, labyrinthine, underground city. This is where our protagonist, Svelta, lives. Svelta is a young female worker. Workers do nothing but work their guts out, from the time they wake up in the morning until late after midnight, day in day out, all year round. Yet, Svelta has a disadvantage: she is missing a leg. The other workers and the forewoman are constantly making fun of her. She is the “five-legged girl.” She lost her sixth one during the latest war. Oh, I forgot to mention that Svelta is an ant. On the first day of Spring, the day that Svelta was to get out of the city, war broke out. War is a terrible thing; massacres, dead people, wounded, disabled, bedraggled prisoners. Messages are transmitted throughout the city in a flash, but silently, simply touching the antennas of your neighbor. While carrying a miserable snack to the prisoners of war, Svelta will receive an incomprehensible message that will alarm her. It is a message of love. “Something unprecedented has overcome me. Something I never knew existed, but feels good. What is happening to me?” Who sent this to her? Can it be it was love? The implications for Svelta’s life will be unforeseen.
“Microcosmos” is an exciting book, full of allegories about everyday life, oppression, struggle, freedom, life and its values.
The author Giorgos K. Panagiotakis was born in Athens in 1968. He worked as an editor for magazines and websites, wrote scripts for movies and video games. As a book author, he has been honored twice with the award of the literary magazine O Anagnostis, and has been included in The White Ravens catalogue of Munich’s International Youth Library. He was also awarded the State Literary Prize for his book When they came for me, the 2nd book of the “Strange Creatures Club” series, and with the Greek IBBY – Kyklos Paidikou Vivliou award for his book Isidor and the moon.
A few words about the Reading Club facilitator:
Thanasis Petrou was born in 1971 in Thessaloniki. He studied French Literature in Thessaloniki and Paris, and holds a postgraduate degree in Sociolinguistics. In 2002, he won the first prize in the comic book competition (“New Talents” category) organized by “9” magazine of Eleftherotypia newspaper in collaboration with the AKTO School of Art & Design. From 2002 to 2005, he studied on a scholarship at the Sketch, Comic Book & Cartoon department of AKTO. He has worked as a French teacher, a translator, an illustrator, a musician. From 2005 to 2011, he worked with "9" magazine of Eleftherotypia newspaper. Since 2012, he has been teaching at AKTO. From 2008 to 2022, 16 comic books of his have been published by various publishers, both on scripts of his own and on scripts by other authors (Dimitris Vanellis, Katerina Servi, Pavlos Methenitis, Tassos Zafiriadis, Yannis Palavos et al.). His latest book is: “1923: Hostile Homeland” (Ikaros Books, 2022).
Sunday 29/10 13.00-14.30
ΖΟΟΜ
For children aged 12 to 16 Up to 30 participants Free admission with online pre-registration
A key prerequisite for participating in the Book Club is to have read the book and wish to share your opinion of it.
The book is published by Patakis Publishers.
