Remarkably fresh and vigorous . . . an impressive achievement. The New York Times Book Review
Set amid the arid landscape and stony resentments of Greece in the aftermath of its bloody civil war, this electrifying novel unfolds a series of interconnecting modern-day fables about childhood and family, love and betrayal. God s Snake is the story of the inventive, courageous Anna, a young girl who has inherited both the skepticism of classical Athens and the fierce stoicism of Sparta. It is also the story of Anna s parents: her mother, a woman as remote as she is seductive,...

Hailed upon publication for its "relentless clarity and moral resonance of an ancient legend" (The Plain Dealer), Irini Spanidou's first novel, God's Snake, introduced one of contemporary literature's most memorable young heroines, Anna Karystinou. Anna returns in Fear, a novel of equally brilliant confidence.

It is now 1959, and thirteen-year-old Anna is a perpetual newcomer, moving from place to place with her family. Her father, a demanding army colonel, has raised her to be invulnerable and proud. But Anna's confident air belies her anxiety as she grapples with her burgeoning sexuality,...