Fw: 10/22 mittenlit.com: Natalie Bakopoulos’ first novel reviewed in New York Times Book Review @mittenlit1

mittenlit.com         Natalie Bakopoulos' first novel reviewed in New York Times Book Review October 21, 2012 at 5:32 PM   "Green Shore" by University of Michigan writer and professor Natalie Bakopoulos received what I think is a laudable review in today's (Sunday, October 21) New York Times Book Review. In what is an unbending formula of the Times every good thing that is said about an author's writing must be counterbalanced with a criticism. The statement "Bakopoulos can swiftly establish a personality or an atmosphere" is followed by "too often the weaknesses in Bakopoulos's style undermine her gifts." The first-time author's moody look at a Greek family against the backdrop of the 1967 Greek military junta is an ambitious and satisfying novel. Not all the ends are tied with pretty bows nor are all the characters likeable or heroic in "Green Shore".  As the reviewer says the novel "effectively captures a mood: the bitter sorrow of seeing a beloved nation hijacked." Natalie Bakopoulos has an MFA in Fiction from the University of Michigan, where she also teaches.  She is a contributing editor for the online journal Fiction Writers Review and was the winner of the Hopwood Award for writing at the University of Michigan. Her brother Dean is also a novelist.