The many positive reviews were unexpected. "Well-deserved," a reader responded when the author wondered out loud as to the sincerity of the praise. The author expresses his gratitude and feels encouraged to continue his writing as he has amassed an enormous amount of material and valuable experience over the years.
To see some of the praise from professional and non-professional reviewers, follow the links by clicking on the book's title below:
"A collection of stories illuminates Koubourlis' travels, beliefs, and experiences with love and pain in this memoir.
Buried within the self-described "eclectic" author and academic's collection of intimately autobiographical stories are the truths that have made him "fortunate in many respects." The physical violence he and his brother endured at the hands of his punishing father, whom he dubs "my family's beater-in-chief," inspires the difficult opening story ("The Beating"), in which he describes the abusive episodes that occurred with regularity throughout their youth and the "profound effect" it had on them both, mostly in the form of "undesirable cultural baggage" carried into and throughout early adulthood. Despite this enduring trauma, Koubourlis remains compassionate and forgiving, openly admitting that he is "incapable of holding a grudge." Instead, he offers absolution and exoneration with descriptions of the negative effects of war and his father's own childhood status as an orphan as probable explanations for his parents' harsh, stern child-rearing style. A series of "first-times" lifts the collection with vivid history and a touch of levity as the author shares experiences such as the first awakening of his consciousness (at age 3) when Italian biplanes bombed his Greek city in 1940. Other firsts include the discovery of his very own toy balloon, which he excitedly discovered at the beach. His first experience with youthful, unbridled, amorous infatuation in his hometown of Rio-Patras in 1953 is also luminously realized. The stories progress to the 1970s: in "Ephemeral Fame," which takes place when Koubourlis was a young (and homesick) university professor in North Carolina, he reconnected with a favorite childhood musician who, by happenstance, was performing at a Greek restaurant in Chicago. The love of a stray cat in the resonant and sentimental "A Message from Afar" ends up inspiring a deeper connection between the author and his female companion, Lena. Other stories have more contemporary settings yet still enchant as Koubourlis strums a guitar melody to a garden snake before concluding with a lyrical meditation on the messages found in dreams.
The collection's strength lies in its diversity. The stories move from early incidents of scarring pain and sadness to memorable experiences with love, animals, partnership, music, and death. The author takes care to embed his opinions and seasoned perspective into each story, framing and informing them with personal insights and life lessons, all placed in historical context; "My First Memory" describes the harrowing bombing of his hometown in "war-soaked Greece" at the opening of World War II and how the citizens of the area scattered in horror. Koubourlis also offers considerations of the nature of evil, the dynamics of "what a civilized society should be," and our propensity to cater to the forces of outside control. Thoughtful, lucid, and emotionally aware throughout, this assemblage of cathartic stories is a powerful testament to memory and meaning, written with passion, intensity, dark humor, frank honesty, and immense heart.
A memoir in stories contextualizes the author's striking experiences throughout his adventuresome life." (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/demetrius-koubourlis/sometimes-cruel-koubourlis/)
Growing up in World War II and the Greek Civil War, and crediting his "life's first horrific memory to Mussolini," Koubourlis was raised by strict parents who did their best to keep him and his brother out of the kind of mischief that might end up in a book of short stories. Often the boys felt the sting of their father's belt as a result of their horseplay or innocent ineptitude. Readers will feel the terror of a young boy as his first memory is the Italian bombing of his hometown in Greece, but humor is never far away. (Readers sensitive to material should take note.)
In the book's second half, the stories build in intensity, exploring individuals' connectedness to the world and our closest environs, with a pained yet tender story of the adult narrator, in Chile with his wife, tending to a wayward kitten, Grits. Sometimes Cruel concludes with an essay on a song heard in a dream and Koubourlis's searching thoughts about its meaning. A YouTube link offers readers a chance to hear the melody that Koubourlis describes as "powerful but calm, as if to emphasize that everything is alright, as it should be." This is an enigmatic book that, for readers of a contemplative bent, will linger in the mind.
Takeaway: Searching, enigmatic memory stories of growing up and living in a violent world."
"In this memoir, a Greek immigrant to the United States who's also a linguistic scholar shares his version of the American dream.
The book opens in 1994in a restaurant in the Cook Islands, where Koubourlis listened to an anticolonial anarchist at a nearby table pontificating on the history of American exploitation. As an immigrant who viewed the United States as a "savior," the author stood up to publicly debate the stranger on American virtues. This introductory anecdote sets the tone of the memoir, which centers on how the U.S. opened up educational, professional, and other opportunities for the author. The book's first half centers on his life in his home country of Greece. Born during his own nation's civil war, Koubourlis had a childhood that included homemade bomb shelters and other wartime horrors that he later featured in his short story collection, Sometimes Cruel (2023). The current book mostly focuses on his desire, as a young adult, for an education: "I was locked into a family and community conspiracy," he writes, describing himself as suffocated by the "war-traumatized mediocrity" of his family's psyche. Hungry for education, the author expressed dismay that his mother banned books from their home and encouraged him to find a trade or enlist in the military. To escape the limited opportunities of his motherland, Koubourlis immigrated to America in 1959 to attend California State College in Sacramento; the author recalls his awe at first seeing the Statue of Liberty and skyscrapers as his ship approached New York City. Over the course of the next two decades, his life centered on what he calls an "educational marathon." Koubourlis would earn a doctorate from the University of Washington's Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures Department and later become a tenured professor.
Although the author notes the highlights of his career, which included the publication of multiple scholarly books and his service as a foreign-exchange professor in the Soviet Union, much of his book is dedicated to his admiration of the nation he now calls home. Never one to back down from a philosophical debate, he notes his public squabbles with Ivy League Marxists, whom he describes as "ideological sleepers on the alert for any opportunity to replay their canned message." Although he's critical of American politicians driven by "crisis-driven policy," Koubourlis emphasizes his belief that his adopted country's "core ideals align with a better world." Those on the left of the political spectrum may disagree with his defense of American exceptionalism, as well as some of his policy positions, such as his argument that immigration authorities should prioritize "the cream of the crop." But the book's narrative offers an inspirational read when it's focused on the author's personal triumphs. The author employs an accessible, engaging style that's distinct from that of his peer-reviewed, academic writings. The text is accompanied by full-color maps, photographs, and other images, although some of the book's AI-generated artwork detracts from the narrative.
An often absorbing, if occasionally polemic, immigration remembrance and defense of the American dream." (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/demetrius-koubourlis/my-ailing-champion/)The scholarly books go back to the early seventies, about half a century ago! Not all are available now:
