Andreas Karkavitsas (1865-1922) writes about the sailors' love for the sea, their adventures, their hardships, and their struggle for survival in a natural world that often shows no mercy. This is a bittersweet collection of short stories titled, "Logia tis ploris=Words of the prow." (I'm not sure if I translate it well). Since I do not have the book here in California, I heard it on the free audio book from the Greek version of the Open Library online.
I enjoyed all of the stories; and many of them that I loved, I loved them as much as I had loved them when I read them back in Greece as a young girl. I was surprised how many of them I had forgotten, but they were coming to my memory as I was hearing them again putting a smile on my face. I think it is a pity that so many wonderful Greek classic works are not known world-wide. I think I will take the risk of my literary ignorance to say that Karkavitsas, at least thematically in these stories, sounds like the Herman Melville of Greece; however, I will need to read more of Herman Melville if I am to make this statement more secure.
That being said, amazing Greek literature did not stop with the ancients. I wish the rest of the world had the opportunity to get to read also some of this great literature that has molded the soul of modern Greece.This was another treat! I can't wait to reread or hear more of the 19th-20th century favorite Greek classics.