Who's Afraid of Hellenic Alienation?

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," said Franklin Delano Roosevelt '04. Is this a nonsensical paradox or a deep rumination on the nature of emotion and thought? To answer this question we need first, perhaps, to figure out exactly what fear is. And in Fear, Irini Spanidou bravely takes on this task.

Spanidou's book is as much a meditation on the nature of fear as it is a novel. Plot, subplots and characters all act as vehicles for the author's ruminations.

As the novel begins, 13-year-old Anna is just starting a new school in her native country of Greece. There she meets Val, an attractive, bold girl who quickly becomes her best friend. This coming-of-age tale focuses on the relationship between the two girls and no Anna's teenage parent-struggles. Acting as one source of the fear that drives the novel is "The Dragon," un-catchable man who murders young girls.

The simple plot provides a sturdy framework for Spanidou's meticulous examination of her characters. Each is drawn with complexity, such that each of their actions creates further dept. None are either wholly likable or wholly unlikable, and as Fear switches from viewpoint to viewpoint and situation to situation characters become more and then less appealing. Much of the time, for example, the reader is likely to sympathize with Anna. Yet when Spanidou's narrative takes on Val's, the mother's or the father's perspective, it is more difficult to sympathize with Anna.

This creates a sense of distance between the reader and the characters as characters are more fully revealed, their perspectives seem increasingly separated, and the reader's viewpoint becomes even more remote.

Spanidou's language is spare, allowing for some sudden moments to simple truth and beauty. This simplicity lends a dreamlike sense to the novel. Spanidou has succeeded in creating the atmosphere of a fairy tale and has created an ominous feeling of fear. It is this atmosphere, in combination with the strength of the characters, that carries the book. The author's discussion of the nature of fear is not as original or exciting as she obviously hopes it to be, but she has managed to draw a picture that will make a lasting impression on the senses and emotions of her readers.