Matia (Emily Tsokos Purtill, UWA Publishing)

Emily Tsokos Purtill’s debut novel, Matia, is a generational story that follows the lives of four Greek women in Australia over 125 years. Sia emigrated from Greece to Perth in 1945 for a better life while her daughter, Koula, is an Australian raised with traditional Greek culture and values. Koula’s daughter, Athena, rails against marriage, and Athena’s daughter, Clara, feels disconnected from her roots. The women are bound together as a family and by a prophecy told to Sia in her village as a young woman. She received four mátia (jewellery that protects from the evil eye) to keep each woman safe and connected across time. Through four different points of view, Tsokos Purtill excavates what it means to be a woman, particularly when traditional values and the social and cultural consequences of immigration trickle down through generations. The author herself is an Australian with Greek heritage, and details from her own life shine through to create a rich backdrop to the entire novel—syrupy baklava, the ‘good room’ and traditional cultural beliefs. She tackles the complexities of mother/daughter relationships and delves into immigration, the grief of leaving your home, and how those two things can burden you and future generations. Matia is an engrossing novel that looks at intergenerational trauma, secrets, guilt, tradition and superstition, for fans of The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Danielle Bagnato is a book reviewer and marketing and communications professional. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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