Petros Markaris
Encyclopedia
Petros Márkaris is a Greek
writer
of detective novels starring the grumpy Athenian
police investigator Costas Haritos.
n entrepreneur and a Greek mother, he went to school at the St. George's Austrian High School in Istanbul and studied after his Abitur
for some years in Vienna
and in Stuttgart
. Because of his father, he belonged to the Armenian minority for many years and did not have any citizenship; he became a Greek citizen shortly after 1974, together with the rest of the Armenian minority in Greece. Markaris speaks and writes in Greek
, Turkish
and German
. Today he lives in Athens.
Before he began to write he studied national economy. Later he wrote several plays and cooperated with Theo Angelopoulos
on a number of film scripts. He translated several German dramas into Greek such as Goethe's Faust I and Faust II, as well as Brecht
's Mother Courage
.
The Costas Haritos series of books (five novels and one collection of short stories, as of 2009) are very popular in several European countries such as Greece
, Germany
, Italy
and Spain
. Their main hero and first person narrator is a detective in the Athenian criminal police in his fifties, with a squabbling, fairly uneducated, and TV-addicted, but dearly loved wife, an aspiring, but stubborn, law student daughter, and an unpleasant, brown-nosing boss. It is hinted several times that Haritos assisted with the torture of leftist prisoners as a very young man under the Colonels' regime, a fact he is quite ashamed of now, and which makes him insecure whenever he has to deal with political leftists of all shades (obviously a fairly common species in Greece even today). Being somewhat old-fashioned (and not always too consistent) in his personal views, he deplores the loss of Greek traditions (but still has French croissant for breakfast rather than sesame rings), dislikes the masses of foreigners entering Greece (which does not stop him from befriending and highly respecting individual foreigners) and despises corruption (but gives large "tips" to his physician). His subjective self-deprecating comments contrast well with the objective high work-ethic and even heroism he displays. The modern Athens of rampant air pollution, ugly concrete buildings, constant traffic jams, and hordes of annoying tourists, is the backdrop of the first four novels (the fifth is set in Istanbul).
The first two books of the series have seen U.K. editions in English as well, under the titles (all straightforward translations from the Greek titles): "Late-Night News" ("Deadline in Athens" in the U.S.), and "Zone Defence"; the next two, "Che
Committed Suicide" and "Basic Shareholder", are scheduled to be published in 2009 and 2010. The fifth novel in the series, not yet scheduled for publication in English, is named "Old, very Old", and is placed in Istanbul, in the milieu of the local, indigenous Greek community (the Rum
). A sixth novel, titled "Expiring Loans", was published in Greek in late 2010; it has not been translated into other languages as of December 2010.
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
of detective novels starring the grumpy Athenian
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
police investigator Costas Haritos.
Biography
The son of an ArmeniaArmenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n entrepreneur and a Greek mother, he went to school at the St. George's Austrian High School in Istanbul and studied after his Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
for some years in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. Because of his father, he belonged to the Armenian minority for many years and did not have any citizenship; he became a Greek citizen shortly after 1974, together with the rest of the Armenian minority in Greece. Markaris speaks and writes in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. Today he lives in Athens.
Before he began to write he studied national economy. Later he wrote several plays and cooperated with Theo Angelopoulos
Theo Angelopoulos
Theodoros Angelopoulos is a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer.-Life:Angelopoulos studied law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, but after his military service went to Paris to attend the Sorbonne. He soon dropped out to study film at the IDHEC before returning...
on a number of film scripts. He translated several German dramas into Greek such as Goethe's Faust I and Faust II, as well as Brecht
Brecht
Brecht is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Brecht proper, Sint-Job-in't-Goor and Sint-Lenaarts. On January 1, 2006 Brecht had a total population of 26,464...
's Mother Courage
Mother Courage
Mother Courage is a character from a Grimmelshausen novel Lebensbeschreibung der Ertzbetrügerin und Landstörtzerin Courasche dating from around 1670...
.
The Costas Haritos series of books (five novels and one collection of short stories, as of 2009) are very popular in several European countries such as Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Their main hero and first person narrator is a detective in the Athenian criminal police in his fifties, with a squabbling, fairly uneducated, and TV-addicted, but dearly loved wife, an aspiring, but stubborn, law student daughter, and an unpleasant, brown-nosing boss. It is hinted several times that Haritos assisted with the torture of leftist prisoners as a very young man under the Colonels' regime, a fact he is quite ashamed of now, and which makes him insecure whenever he has to deal with political leftists of all shades (obviously a fairly common species in Greece even today). Being somewhat old-fashioned (and not always too consistent) in his personal views, he deplores the loss of Greek traditions (but still has French croissant for breakfast rather than sesame rings), dislikes the masses of foreigners entering Greece (which does not stop him from befriending and highly respecting individual foreigners) and despises corruption (but gives large "tips" to his physician). His subjective self-deprecating comments contrast well with the objective high work-ethic and even heroism he displays. The modern Athens of rampant air pollution, ugly concrete buildings, constant traffic jams, and hordes of annoying tourists, is the backdrop of the first four novels (the fifth is set in Istanbul).
The first two books of the series have seen U.K. editions in English as well, under the titles (all straightforward translations from the Greek titles): "Late-Night News" ("Deadline in Athens" in the U.S.), and "Zone Defence"; the next two, "Che
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
Committed Suicide" and "Basic Shareholder", are scheduled to be published in 2009 and 2010. The fifth novel in the series, not yet scheduled for publication in English, is named "Old, very Old", and is placed in Istanbul, in the milieu of the local, indigenous Greek community (the Rum
Rûm
Rûm, also Roum or Rhum , an indefinite term used at different times in the Muslim world to refer to the Balkans and Anatolia generally, and for the Byzantine Empire in particular, for the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm in Asia Minor, and referring to Greeks living outside of Greece or non-muslims...
). A sixth novel, titled "Expiring Loans", was published in Greek in late 2010; it has not been translated into other languages as of December 2010.