Matia is a debut novel by Australian author Emily Tsokos Purtill. It is a work of fiction in the interpersonal drama and generational family subgenres.
It’s 1945 and readers are taken on a thrilling ride across the seas where seventeen-year-old Sia and her Aunt Thea Tasoula travel from Greece to Perth, Western Australia. She had not seen her father in fifteen years and was unsure of what to expect from a man she barely knew. He had lived in Australia before the war broke out and had saved enough money for them to join him.
Before leaving Greece, Sia saw a local Oracle and received four prophecies. She was given four pieces of protective jewellery known as a matia, to protect the wearer from evil and bad luck. One for herself and the others for future generations Koula her daughter, Athena her granddaughter and Clara her great-granddaughter.
As these women’s lives unfold, with unique experience after experience and transformation through different time periods, countries and cultures will they pave their own way? Or will the prophecy as told ring true?
This is a well-plotted, character-driven story that explores the thrills and challenges of four generations of women. The author hooks us, reels us in, and binds us to these characters. They are funny, eccentric, temperamental, ideal, strong, and real. Their dimensionality begs us to invest in them, emotionally, so that when their lives become shaken by their setting, we feel their pain, and share their joys.
The settings in each country are wonderful, and I loved the colourful descriptions and the imagery that comes across vividly in the writing with natural-sounding dialogues. We get to learn about Greek culture and how it is presented in a foreign country through generations. The supporting cast of characters came with their own uniqueness and characteristics that blended well into the storyline.
The cover is simple, bold, and clever. The font, image and title all work perfectly together, I love the quality of the illustration with the intertwining evil eye bracelet around the hands and gold decal, it makes the cover feel very intimate.
Matia is a universal story of love, pain, hope, and dreams made exceedingly colourful and interesting as it unravels through these women’s lives. For me, this was one of those novels that you start, and you think you know what to expect, and then you are given a most unannounced treat.
Emily Tsokos Purtill masterfully writes with confidence in her debut novel, she takes such care with her storytelling. I loved how authentic the book felt as it plunges readers into the world of women to explore what is precious in their hearts; it will arouse the finest of emotions in readers.
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club members are reading Matia by Emily Tsokos Purtill. You can read their comments below, or add your own review.
My love of books started at a very young age. My mum has always been a reader and encouraged me to read, buying me endless book from classic fairy tales advancing to the world of Enid Blyton, CS Lewis, Louisa May Alcott, Kathryn Kenny, Carolyn Keene, Francine Pascal. In my adult years the list of authors is endless and every room in my house is filled with books.
One of my favourite novels is Narnia which has always has a special place in my heart. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 1978 and when I was given this book to read it let me escape to another world where I felt like I was in the book with all the characters, it wasfun and exciting to escape from reality and eased the ups and downs of the disease at such a young age.
In books nothing is impossible and there is endless potential and hundreds of places to explore or being taken to places that are only made up from the authors’ great minds, the past and future to navigate, characters lives you step into taking you on an emotional rollercoaster ride or being scared out of your wits. I can experience things that I can’t in real life because they’re not possible or real. It challenges my perspective and mindset expanding my worldview.
I find joy, comfort and peace with books, many people may not get it, but I know bookworms like me truly understand. Reading makes my heart happy.
MATIA by Emily Tsokos Purtill
Matia is compelling,captivating and a emotional story.
I found the story sometimes hard to follow as it goes back to the 60s and forth to the future of 2045.
With a dooming prophecy hanging over her daughter, granddaughter great granddaughter’s head including herself Sia , she carries with her four prophecies and 4 pieces of jewellery ,will there lives be fulfilled as they wish or will they come to their fate which is hanging over there heads .
A must read book that takes you well into the future .
Thankyou beauty and lace
An intriguing and well written novel about 4 relatives and the events that brought them around full circle. I was very intrigued about the prophecies by the fortune teller and how that would turn out. Emily kept us in the dark regarding the prophecies and treasure but revealed secrets of the ladies as they went along throughout the years and how they affected each other.
The timelines sometimes got a bit confusing at times and the prophecy was a bit of a letdown (I felt) at the end but lovely just the same, but other than that an enjoyable read and I got to learn a bit of Greek culture along the way.
Matia By Emily Tsokos Purtill, I think I have found my all time favorite book ever! What an intriguing and entertaining story. I loved the storyline of tracing 4 generations of strong women. The way the story opened up the hidden secrets of each generation was revealed was well written and easy to follow. An immigrant family living in Australia with many Greek traditions and values but very much also an Australian twist and flavor in this story.
The storyline was not your typical family story this had some intrigue, mystery and deep hidden secrets .. as well as a murder which was revealed by Thea Thea the “kafetzou or oracle” many years earlier. The Matia was a very important in this story and how the 4 Matia’s would one day be given to these 4 women and hen come back together.
There was enough back story to gain an understanding of how this family functioned with others but it really did focus on the 4 women, their struggles, life and deaths. I loved the ending where all the loose ends were nearly tied up and you discovered the buried treasure in homeland Greece.
If you are looking for the ultimate book that will keep you turning pages until the end this is the book for you. Well done such a well written book.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace and UWA Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Matia by Emily Tsokos Purtill is a wonderful book. I enjoyed the story so much more than I expected. The characters were lots of fun with their superstitions and beliefs, I felt like I was part of their family.
It was a little confusing going backwards and forwards in time but I can understand why this was done.
An excellent book for everyone, especially those of Greek heritage.
Matia by Emily Tsokos Purtill, was the first book I’ve ever read about Greeks, and I had no idea how highly superstitious they were, this book was an eye opener for me, one that I thoroughly loved reading. Particularly helpful was Emily’s glossary explaining Greek words and even more engrossing the mouth-watering delicacies they all sounded so delicious.
I love intergenerational family saga stories especially those that traverse the globe and Emily’s story did not disappoint. Sia, and her daughter Koula adhere to the family traditions, where Athena her granddaughter is happier creating her own path and Clara her great-granddaughter, adventuress like her mother, owns an art gallery and lives alone in New York.
Although easy to follow, the story does hop around a bit, and traverses the globe from Greece initially, then Perth, London and New York. Thank you so much, Beauty and Lace and UWA Publishing, Emily’s debut novel ‘Matia’ was a very enjoyable read and I particularly loved the ending, I look forward to Emily’s next book.
Thanks Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read Emily Tsokos Puryill novel Matia – I thoroughly enjoyed this read which follows four generations of Greek women in one family and goes back and forth over 125 years and brings to life the four prophecies that were given to Sia back in her Greek village before she came to Perth to join her father in 1945.
I found this book hard to put down and enjoyed it immensely.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 star read for me
Matia by Emily Tsokos Purtill is a debut novel by the Australian author.
It is a story of a Greek family over 125 years. It covers over four generations in three continents from Greece to Perth to New York and finally returning back to Greece. I didn’t know a lot about Greek culture but found it very intriguing. I did not know that they are so superstitious.
Sia and her Aunt Thea Tasoula emigrated to Australia in 1945 and settled in Perth looking for a better life. Sia had not seen her father for 15 years but he had saved enough money for them to join him as he had been there before the war broke out. Sia was worried she would not know him anymore as it has been so long since seeing him.
Before leaving Greece Sia received four prophecies: these were four pieces of protective jewelry known as matia which are supposed to protect the wearer from evil and bad luck. These four matia are for herself, and future generations in her life. How will these prophecies end for all families concerned?
I did find it a little confusing with the timeline going back and forth but do realise why this was done.
The story is full of dreams, love, hope and pain for all the family and takes us on a ride of their lives both here and overseas.
A great read which kept me wanting to turn the page to see what was going to happen next.
Wear your Matia, keep it with you, it will protect you.
Follow the story of four generations of Greek descended women, their differences, their lives and their faith in the Matia. Sia had her future foretold by the wise woman in her home town. That her path was set, that the future will come back to the past and that her family needed to trust in the safety of the protection symbol, their Matia.
From Greece to Australia to England to the USA… this family tale draws you in, left ever wondering… what was foretold?
I really enjoyed the traditions and heritage told in this book. The way a culture evolved and was passed within the family.