Afbeelding van de auteur.

Alki Zei (1925–2020)

Auteur van The Wildcat Behind Glass

22 Werken 261 Leden 9 Besprekingen Favoriet van 1 leden

Over de Auteur

Fotografie: via Alchetron

Werken van Alki Zei

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Gangbare naam
Zei, Alki
Officiële naam
Ζέη, Άλκη
Geboortedatum
1925-12-15
Overlijdensdatum
2020-02-27
Geslacht
female
Nationaliteit
Greece
Land (voor op de kaart)
Greece
Geboorteplaats
Athens, Greece
Plaats van overlijden
Athènes, Grèce
Woonplaatsen
Samos, Grèce
Athens, Greece
Tashkent, Soviet Union
Moscow, Russia, USSR
Paris, France
Opleiding
Athens University (philosophy)
Moscow Cinema Institute (screenwriting)
Conservatoire d'Athènes
Beroepen
Author
Relaties
Σεβαστίκογλου, Γιώργος
Prijzen en onderscheidingen
Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2015)
Mildred L. Batchelder Award (1970, 1974, 1980)
Korte biografie
Alki Zei est l'un des auteurs les plus importants en matière de littérature de jeunesse grecque.
Alki Zei est née à Athènes, où elle fit ses études. Elle y vécut la guerre, puis étudia la littérature et commença à publier des nouvelles. En 1946, elle suit son mari Georges en URSS. Leurs deux enfants naissent à Moscou. Après quelques années passées à Tachkent, Alki et les siens rentrent en Grèce. Avec l'arrivée au pouvoir d'un gouvernement militaire, ce fut la prison et l'exil : en Italie et en France, avant de regagner son pays d'origine après la dictature. Elle vit aujourd'hui à Athènes avec son mari et ses enfants.
Alki Zei a obtenu de nombreux prix, entre autres, le Prix Mildred Batchelder aux Etats-Unis et le Prix national pour la littérature enfantine en Grèce.
Source : ricochet

Leden

Besprekingen

Deze bespreking is geschreven voor LibraryThing Vroege Recensenten.
In 1936 two young sisters, Melia and Myrto, are excited to spend the summer running around the small Greek island they live on and getting to see the older cousin they idolize, Nikos, who makes up great adventure stories about the taxidermied wildcat in their aunt’s living room. However, fascism is a looming threat and starting to put pressure on their family, particularly their academic grandfather and the revolutionary Nikos. Soon some of their friends prove they can’t be trusted, and others desperately need their help. The girls are divided as Myrto joins the youth nationalist club. Nikos is wanted by the new dictator’s police and must hide, but he leaves clues for Melia in the mouth of the wildcat, so she can help him with his fight.

A lovely classic middle-grade story. Melia starts out very free and trusting of everyone, but sees the fascism creeping in the same way that the reader does. She keeps the sense of justice that she had from the beginning, but fine-tunes it as she learns more about the world. The role of the stuffed wildcat is perfect, starting out as a metaphor and fantasy but evolving into a literal hideaway and facilitator of resistance.
I knew nothing of modern Greek history and was not aware that they had a fascist dictatorship in the 1930s along with all their neighbors, so I appreciate this for filling a gap in my knowledge in addition to just being a good book.
… (meer)
½
 
Gemarkeerd
norabelle414 | 6 andere besprekingen | Apr 21, 2024 |
Deze bespreking is geschreven voor LibraryThing Vroege Recensenten.
Originally written in 1963, this novel has received multiple honors and been published in dozens of international editions. It’s a classic for good reason with its fascinating, well-written, thought-provoking, and richly authentic story.

Melia, age 8, and her sister Myrto, age 10, call a Greek island home. It’s 1936, and they are pleased as punch to be heading to the small village at the seaside where they spend every summer cavorting with their friends. One of the best bits is when their college-age cousin, Nikos, comes and spins fabulous tales about the taxidermied wildcat that resides in the glass case at home.

This summer, however, turns out to be a strange one. Alongside the carefree, idyllic days by the sea, the unsupervised make-believe, banter, bickering, and adventuring of this ragtag crew of kids, there is an air of mysterious, foreboding gloom among the adults. The children often overhear worrisome, sharp exchanges, remarks about kings and dictators, democracy and fascism, Hitler and Spain, which they don’t understand but which seem full of dark significance. As tensions, secrets, and emotions continue to rise, Melia, Myrto, and the wildcat find themselves immersed in a serious, dangerous adventure.

I’ve encountered numerous middle-grade novels about WWII-era resistance movements among the Danes, Norwegians, French, Dutch…but never the Greeks. Alki Zei, who was herself involved in the Greek resistance, conveys brilliantly the tumult of anger and grief, fear of reprisal, brave resistance, and stomach-turning acquiescence, as the country falls from democracy into fascism. She juxtaposes this with the sunny innocence of childhood, the fierce love within family and community, and enlivens the entire story with rich sensory details of Greek life in this era – delicious stuffed tomatoes and cheese fritters, wine cellars and rocky caves, turquoise waters and old fishing boats. And she gives us a narrator in Melia whose voice is credible and captivating.

It’s a timeless story in content and in the telling. This translation flows beautifully, and an introductory note by the translator is of great help to modern readers. Highly recommended as a read-aloud with ages 8 and up, or an independent read for ages 10 and older.
… (meer)
1 stem
Gemarkeerd
orangemarmalade | 6 andere besprekingen | Apr 15, 2024 |
Deze bespreking is geschreven voor LibraryThing Vroege Recensenten.
This was such an interesting read! I love having translated titles in my classroom library— especially when they have such a cool premise! My middle schoolers love this book
 
Gemarkeerd
NicoleRewis | 6 andere besprekingen | Apr 14, 2024 |
Deze bespreking is geschreven voor LibraryThing Vroege Recensenten.
Won this as an early review copy for library thing. Set in 1930s Greece and told from the point of view an 8 year old girl. This is the time that Greece and the world is seeing lots of political turmoil. During the course of the book Greece comes under dictatorship rule. Part of her family is for it while others are happy with the status quo. Interesting point of view of a young child in regards to what is going on in the world. The deposition of the king, an older cousin who goes off to fight for democracy in Spain, father who's afraid of losing his job at the bank.… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
ChrisWeir | 6 andere besprekingen | Apr 10, 2024 |

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Statistieken

Werken
22
Leden
261
Populariteit
#88,099
Waardering
4.1
Besprekingen
9
ISBNs
73
Talen
10
Favoriet
1

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