Milton JohanidesWith The Songs We Sang At Trollopes the story of Artie Papayiannis, as told by his grandson, Euripides Aristopoulos, comes to a conclusion and with it Milton Johanides brings together all the themes of fate, God, destiny, religion, personal ambition nd family ties, which have run through the whole trilogy. The idea of immigrants living in post-colonial Britain was not so long ago a done-deal, no longer an issue, but the recent popular nationalism which has swept through the western world brings it into question again, asking questions about sovereignty, nationality and culture. As the first Greek at his school Euripides (or Yuri as he is known) can't help but sense the clash of culture, the weirdness of being British Greek in the context of a traditional English Public School. All the contradictions which plagued his grandfather still exist and may never be eradicated, but the point of the novel is that these matters must be rationalized, accommodated and tolerated. His black friend and fellow pupil, Sogdashi Offwerki, is more victimized than Yuri, but succeeds in supremely rising above that victimization, thus winning Yuri's respect. He learns a valuable lesson from his African pal and uses it to effect a solution to his own problems. Read More Read Less