Steam

Steam

Steam was published in April 2011 by Kedros. An extended excerpt of the novel was published in 2012 in the New York-based translation venue InTranslation.

“George Pavlopoulos’ second novel evokes the ideological crisis of Europe, its ambivalence about its glorious past, and its mounting crisis of identity. The author takes us into the heart of a fragile Europe plagued by the death of isms and the struggle between collectivism and individualism. Why do Europeans seem to be steeped in melancholy? What does the future hold for the next generation?

The story unfolds in a nameless city of unspecified locale, which in turns evokes Paris, London and Berlin. It all starts at the historic cinema Steam, which is about to close down in order to be replaced by a contemporary museum: the brainchild of ruthless plutocrat, Max Plinkie. At the core of the heterogeneous group that decides to spend the last night at the cinema as an act of protest, is a group of close friends, former children of the wild 60s. That night will turn out to be a unique opportunity for them to reminisce on the past and redefine their position in an ever-changing present. For young Lis, who stands as their natural successor, that night will serve as the impetus for a peculiar quest into her own identity. Armed with her camera, she will try to keep alive the images of a gradually vanishing world by embarking on a lonely and evocative journey whose path will be irrevocably marked by the presence of legendary artist, Floggenis.”

Praise for STEAM:

“A unique tapestry of the world as it moves from the 20th to the 21st century –the identity and cultural crisis weaving the narrative’s deeper strands.”                                             

–Hestia Newspaper, 2011                                                                                             

“In Steam, a young man, George Pavlopoulos, describes the impact of the lost past with the wisdom, precision and knowledge of a writer old in years and big in talent.”

–Soti Triantafillou, bestselling writer of The Pencil Factory, 2012

“Steam grabbed my attention, the characters were engaging: clearly the work of a superior mind.”

–Thomas Hodgkinson, Freelance writer for The Guardian and The Spectator, 2011