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Reviewed by Carol Thompson for Readers' Favorite
Greek by Osmosis: My Life on a Small Greek Island by Laura Aristidou Candris is a memoir that transports readers to the Cyclades through vivid detail and wry storytelling. Beginning with her marriage to Aris, a Greek national she met in Kentucky, Candris chronicles a life shaped by cross-cultural love, architectural headaches, culinary traditions, and the rhythms of island existence. The early chapters describe her first journey to the island in 1978, where she met her in-laws for the first time. Later, she recounts the challenges of buying land and building a home in a place where bureaucracy, bribes, and unpredictable construction timelines tested her patience.
Laura Aristidou Candris’ anecdotes are often playful but carry a note of admiration for the islanders’ resourcefulness and traditions. Food, naturally, plays a central role, from meals prepared by her beloved mother-in-law, Kiki, to the inclusion of family recipes at the end of the book. What sets this memoir apart from similar memoirs is its blend of personal history with cultural observation. Candris does not romanticize every moment, as there are frustrations with officials, appliances that break, and roads that wash away, but she writes with affection and perspective. Her voice is warm, conversational, and tinged with a hint of humor. Greek by Osmosis will appeal to readers who enjoy memoirs rooted in place, stories of cross-cultural marriage, or simply those who dream of Mediterranean summers. It is both a portrait of an island and of a marriage, told with clarity, warmth, and a keen eye for detail.
