TO LOOK ON DEATH NO MORE

During World War II in autumn of 1943, a Greek village already weakened by civil turmoil and deprivation is beset by the Nazis. An Irishman dropped into the fray by the British is devoted to their welfare, but what can one man do amid so much carnage?

A lone allied soldier parachutes into Greece. His stated goal: to build an airstrip for the British. Brendon O'Malley is an Irishman, and he soon discovers that fighting the Nazis is not the same as embracing the British, who have seriously misled him about his mission. Wounded during the drop, he's set upon and robbed by a seventeen-year-old girl, Danae, and her little brother, Stefanos, who hold him captive for over six weeks, first in a cave and later in the cellar of their home, ultimately saving him from the enemy. A wary friendship develops between the three. Over time O'Malley's relationship with the girl gradually deepens into love. Slowly O'Malley earns Danae's trust, and he stays on with her family in their house in the village. After his wounds heal, he heads up into the mountains to join the Greek soldiers, the antartes, who are suspicious of the British and slow to accept him into their ranks. O'Malley is no ordinary man, and his honesty, strength, and courage impress them and finally win the day. But disaster lies just ahead; and the Nazis, already a palpable presence in their lives, stage a savage attack on Kalavryta. Through it all, the love of this Irishman for his indomitable Greek muse cannot be extinguished. Most WWII stories are written with Italy, Germany, Great Britain and the United States as the focal points, but TO LOOK ON DEATH NO MORE is not only a love story but also an expose' of what occurred in the remote part of Greece close to the end of the war. Leta Serafim was a journalist at the Los Angeles Times Washington Bureau before moving to Greece, where she taught art and illustrated books. Upon her return to the United States, she wrote feature stories for the Boston Globe before writing fiction. She continues to spend her summers in Greece. Serafim's first book, The Devil Takes Half, received a starred review in Library Journal.