Let Me Explain You A Novel

A stellar debut novel about a Greek American family and its enigmatic patriarch from a riveting new voice in contemporary literature: A “big, rollicking, tender novel with a truly original comic voice at its center” (George Saunders, author ofTenth of December). Stavros Stavros Mavrakis, Greek immigrant and proud owner of the Gala Diner in New Jersey, believes he has just ten days to live. As he prepares for his final hours he sends a scathing email to his ex-wife and three grown daughters, outlining his wishes for how they each might better their lives. With varying degrees of laughter and scorn, his family and friends dismiss his behavior as nothing more than a predictable plea for attention, but when Stavros disappears, those closest to him are forced to confront the possibility of his death. A vibrant tour de force that races to a surprising conclusion, Let Me Explain You is told from multiple perspectives: Stavros Stavros, brimming with pride and cursing in broken English; his eldest daughter Stavroula, a talented chef in love with her boss's daughter; her sister, the wounded but resilient Litza; and many other voices who add to a veritable Greek chorus. This multigenerational novel explores our origins and family myths, reinvention and forgiveness, hunger and what feeds us. Itis a beautifully told, heartfelt story, with meditations on the communal power of storytelling and family—the relationship between fathers and daughters, but also the complex bond of sisterhood. "Annie Liontas has fashioned from the raw facts of immigrant experience and family life a hilarious, fascinating, poetic work of fiction...a dazzling debut destined to become a classic" (Mary Karr).