First published 2020
Mary Norris takes readers on her personal journey through Greece, where her fascination with words meets ancient culture. The New Yorker editor and author of Between You & Me chronicles her solo travels across the land that gave us olive trees and ouzo. Norris traces how the Greek alphabet became the foundation for our own letters. She examines Athena through a feminist lens and uncovers the Greek roots hidden in English vocabulary. Her adventures bring encounters with local wine, ancient mythology, and Greek men who cross her path. The book weaves together linguistics, travel memoir, and cultural exploration. Norris shows how Greek civilization continues to shape modern expression and thought. Her passion for language transforms ordinary tourist experiences into deeper investigations of meaning and connection.
Genres: travel, language, memoir, non-fiction, biography-memoir, linguistics, academic, cultural-studies
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: personal-journey, travel-memoir
Setting: Greece
240 pages · Paperback · W. W. Norton & Company