The Purchased Bride

I could not put this book down. I seek out works about this tumultuous period in history in effort to learn more, and this one did not disappoint. I loved learning more about the time period. This is a story of war and the ultimate sacrifice. We see in this story just how far people will go in desperate times. But more than that, since we know this is based on a true story, there is a happy ending. Maria prevailed, had a family—and a successful grandson who could share her story. History is rough, but stories like this are not only about survival, but also the importance of sharing the past, no matter how difficult, so we don’t repeat it.

This was a great read! I found the writing compelling and the story - plus the history - quite fascinating. It's particularly interesting that it's based on a true-story. As a debut novel, I give it 5-stars, hands down!

The author did great job telling the story while describing the turmoil of Greece in the 1900s . They made it easy to digest and engaging to stay into the story, which many author have failed to do.

I spent last summer in Eastern Turkey and the landscapes of this novel feel so familiar. What touched me the most was Maria and Lita's friendship. The way girls find each other and cling on for dear life in a cruel and unexplainable world, where the grown ups decide everything. Female friendship is what keeps us afloat, until......

Read it all in one sit (actually two haha) The book is so rich with historical detail, and authentic (and bizarre!) legends from the caucasus - it captures the flavor of that specific time and place like nothing I've read before. It's also a cutting account of the way girls are treated like property, as well as what war and poverty can do to the human spirit. Very twisted at times. This book hit my sweet spot as a history nerd, a feminist, and a lover of that rare gem: the literary page-turner. Five stars for sure.

Constantine has translated dozens of books from a dozen languages, but this is his first novel. Dense with visceral detail it imagines the life of his grandmother, a Greek peasant from the Caucasus whose village was destroyed by marauders when she was fifteen. You’ll be astonished at how deeply this book immerses you in this young soul trapped inside what everyone around her sees as a valuable piece of fleshly merchandise, as the Ottoman empire collapses around her during her 1909 journey into the patriarchal enslavement that is the only opportunity life offers her. This book adds a stunning new facet to Constantine’s long and illustrious literary career.

A captivating story about those timeless themes of coming of age and the loss of innocence. As well as a fascinating account of the practice of the enslavement of girls under the guise of marriage. Something that continues to this day.

Constantine takes the readers of "The Purchased Bride" to another world ofgorgeous color and extreme violence. And he does it with the the talent of a born story teller.A small gem of a book.