{"product_id":"the-amalgam-9783988322203","title":"The Amalgam","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cstrong\u003eA tenderly told story of a complex inheritance, displacement, and secrets\u003c\/strong\u003e.\" Nadia Hashimi, internationally bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eThe Pearl That Broke Its Shell\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAthens, 1984. All Meta wants is to escape her tyrannical father and the future he demands of her. But when her dying grandmother, Metaxia, presses a mysterious heirloom into her hands-begging her to return it to the lost Greek village in Asia Minor from which she was violently expelled during World War I-Meta makes a promise she doesn't fully understand.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFleeing to America in a desperate bid for freedom, Meta must survive on her own after her father cuts her off-penniless, hungry, and clinging to her dream of becoming an artist. Yet the heirloom wrapped in her grandmother's handkerchief refuses to be forgotten. Years later, a shattering moment forces Meta to confront the life she has built-and the history she has tried to outrun.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer journey to Turkey becomes a pilgrimage across continents and across time, echoing Metaxia's own flight from violence decades earlier. As their parallel stories converge, Meta must finally face the truth: can we ever return to the places that made us-or only to the person we were meant to become?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSweeping, intimate, and deeply human, \u003cem\u003eThe Amalgam\u003c\/em\u003e is the tale of two women bound by survival, exile, and the unbreakable pull of home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKarametou, Maria:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Maria Karametou, a first-generation immigrant to the US from Athens, Greece, is a visual artist whose mixed media works are exhibited internationally in numerous museum and gallery shows and featured in various collections. Her long career as a university professor includes, among others, a Fulbright Research Scholar award. Inspired by her experiences and history of migration, mobility, and displacement, her work, both visual and literary, relates to identity and our personal journey of self-discovery. She lives in the suburban Washington, DC metropolitan area. The Amalgam is her first novel. Visit: mariakarametou.com","brand":"Vine Leaves Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52160007995666,"sku":"9783988322203","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_e255e5a4-854c-49f1-b704-dfa9fd7b0b55.jpg?v=1775029914","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-amalgam-9783988322203","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}